Building Effective Teams

Introduction Leaders need to build a strong team that can realise its goals by incorporating certain aspects of effective team building. Such aspects would ensure that the team is efficient and effective in its roles. In this context, team members must be aware of the objective of the team and specific periods for realising the set targets. A team must have a method of sharing responsibilities and leadership roles. This ensures accountability within the team. A team should have a clear purpose and concrete outcomes from inputs of its members.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Building Effective Teams specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Effective Team Building A clear purpose is a characteristic of effective team building. All members of a team should agree on the team’s goals. Shared goals and responsibilities enhance team effort by providing a clear sense of direction. All members should contribute in formulating objectives (Mealiea and Baltazar, 2005). A clear purpose would ensure that all members of the team have clear roles and responsibilities. Moreover, other members will also support such roles and the purpose of the team. Team building requires definitive decision-making strategies. This eliminates challenges related to prolonged and unproductive discussions, which could hinder the team’s effort. A definitive process of making decisions ensures that all team members contribute, and they may resort to consensus to overcome contentious issues. Members must express their opinions and review all areas of disagreements. Building a team requires an open communication system. This allows members to exploit communication channels to express their opinions and offer relevant feedback, as well as share information among themselves. Communication must reach all members of the team. Moreover, it should be consistent through various channels of communications. This ensures that all members are up to speed on the team’s progress and setbacks. Effective team building requires shared leadership. In this regard, the team carries out leadership roles like â€Å"contributor, collaborator, challenger, facilitator, and controller† (Mealiea and Baltazar, 2005). These roles are not exclusively for the team leader. However, shared leadership roles will differ based on the prevailing circumstances and skills of members of the team. Moreover, different members may also have different responsibilities in leadership. This is a participatory style of leading a team. Team members can suggest various ways of improving team activities and services. Participation by team members in various activities enhances decision-making processes within the team. Members can also rely on the group participation to facilitate self-efficacy and development of new strategies. Listening and acknowledging contributions of other team members can facilitate building of effective team. Team members should discuss and formulate strategies for problem solving (Taggar and Brown, 2001). Members of a team could use listening to enhance interpersonal sensitivity and understanding. Listening ensures that all channels of communication within the team are open for contributions and criticism. Listening also facilitates interaction among members of the team.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Summary There are several approaches used in building effective team, but they depend on the prevailing conditions and characteristics of members. The role of the team leader remains imperative in ensuring a successful team that can realise its objectives. Leaders can only realise the overall purpose of the team if they have a clear framework that guides their roles and team activities. The framework should show a clear purpose of the team, decision-making strategie s, listening, communication channels, relationships, and shared leadership and members’ responsibilities among others. Building effective team requires action-oriented approaches and practical solutions to challenges associated with team building. References Mealiea, L., and Baltazar, R. (2005). A Strategic Guide for Building Effective Teams. Public Personnel Management, 34(2), 141-160. Taggar, S., and Brown, C. (2001). Problem-solving team behaviors: Development and validation of BOS and a hierarchical factor structure. Small Group Research, 32(6), 698. This research paper on Building Effective Teams was written and submitted by user Kali Kirk to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Designing the Best Application Essays

Designing the Best Application Essays As someone who has written and edited dozens of application essays, I can tell you from experience that the best application essays are those that are creatively presented. There is no doubt in my mind, as a matter of fact, that the reason I was accepted to my college of choice was mostly due to the creativity behind my purpose statement. In order to give you a better idea of what I mean, I am going to illustrate how I designed my application package. As anyone who is applying to college will tell you, the application form consists of several general information inquiries, the essay section, as well as some short answer questions. When I was applying to school I knew my grades werent my strongest suit, so I decided to make my application package a work of art. Rather than simply filling out the application form by hand, I had my answers professionally printed on the pages. Then, I affixed the pages of the form on to heavy pieces of card-stock paper, so it looked as though each page of my application form was beautifully framed. For my application essay, I also had it professionally printed and then matted on card-stock paper. In addition, I included corresponding illustrations which I attached to the opposite sides of each page. Then, once I had my application, my essay, my short answer questions, and my illustrations beautifully printed and matted, I took everything to a professional print company where I had the pages bound in book-form. As Im certain you can tell, I spend a tremendous amount of time on my admissions essays and their presentations. When all was said and done, it took nearly two months to complete. Be assured, however, that the time and effort was more than worth it. I was accepted to every school to which I applied. If you are interested in learning how you can create the best application essays possible, dont hesitate to click on the adjacent link where you will find lots of ideas.

Micro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Micro Economics - Essay Example According to the Pareto principle social welfare definitely augments only if the benefit of any member of society increases and the welfare of no one falls. Actually when the Pareto criterion is strictly spoken it can be considered as simply an aggregation and decision rule and which could be enforced to non-utility. In reality the original distribution of income and wealth is generally taken as if it is given and alterations in either income or wealth cannot be measured beyond the need of changes themselves satisfy the Pareto criterion. The possible Pareto criterion, involving the gains associated to some alteration to outbalance the losses induced by it, is a less protective criterion. The Pareto principle by itself does not affirm the conclusion that any alteration from a non-Pareto-optimal position to a Pareto-optimum is an improvement. For this, economists rely on the compensation principle. On the other hand this principle itself can be questioned. Economists actually stress that the compensation required in demonstrating a potential Pareto improvement should be handled as hypothetical. But, now the issue is with regard to what is this potential Pareto improvement (PPI)? The potentiality of the principle is regarded as immaterial for its being an improvement? Many economists attempt to instill a PPI with some quasi-physical meaning. They indicate that a PPI, though not the same to an increment in social welfare, nonetheless still establishes an increase in the dimension of the cake from which welfare is deduced, or the capability of the oven in which the cake is baked. These economists state that a positive result of the compensation test depicts an increase in aggregate real income (Kaldor 1939: 550, 551). At the same time economists like Chipman (1987, pp. 524- 530); Kaldor (1939, p. 550), believe in the productive potential of the economy and Boadway and Bruce (1984, p. 97), Hennipman (1976, p. 476); Hicks (1981,

Registered nurse and Registered practical nurse should have individual Essay

Registered nurse and Registered practical nurse should have individual regulatory body - Essay Example As stated by Melrose and Wishart (2013), RN’s study for a longer period of time and have more in depth scope of practice and have greater knowledge in decision making, critical thinking, leadership, research utilization, resource management and healthcare delivery systems. An RN focuses on greater understanding of patient care and identifies the need for involvement of other health professionals (Melrose &Wishart, 2013). RPN’s focus on collecting data such as vital signs, monitoring the progress of patients and reporting any adverse reactions. RN’s not only gather data, they incorporate the data in a more holistic approach for better patient care (Melrose &Wishart, 2013). Considering their educational background, RPN’s have been trained to care for stable patients, where there may not be medical interventions required. The autonomy of an RPN will depend on the complexity of their patient’s condition (RPNAO, 2012). The RPNAO explains that when the care of a patient becomes more complex, there is a greater need for RN’s. This information would imply that RN’s have further educational training that allows them to care for patients with greater needs. On the other hand, one would argue that the nursing knowledge of an RPN is comparable with the educational knowledge of an RN and for this reason they should be regulated under the same body. Along with RN’s; following graduation, RPN’s take a national certificate examination that will allow them to obtain their license to practice. RPN’s also study from the same body of knowledge as RN’s and have a more focused foundational knowledge. In addition, over the past 10 years, it is evident that the RPN program has started to lengthen and their scope of practice has become broader and comparable with RN’s (RPNAO, 2012). Martin and Weeres (2012) suggest that RPN’s are not working to their full scope of practice and are unable to utilize their

Team Work on the example of the film Oceans Eleven Essay

Team Work on the example of the film Oceans Eleven - Essay Example The paper describes the leadership influence on team work and the group processes. Our goals were simple: we wanted to work together to achieve a quality project with very little conflict and low stress. We made this happen by coming to agreements on section length and due dates and we followed this schedule. It worked out well for us because they were SMART goals. While doing our project we didn’t really ever have to influence each other to do anything we didn’t want to. We think this is because we used a logical, collaborative approach to accomplish our task. Both of these were effective; we were logical in the sense that if we were to force other group members into roles that they didn’t want to be in, they probably wouldn’t excel in those areas which would negatively affect the outcome of our project and we were collaborative in that we worked together to make sure we accomplished the set goals of the group. A passive or assertive approach would most l ikely not work to influence our group members to accomplish our goals. The process of decision making is extremely important and every member must be in unison when it comes to decision making, usually good decisions are made when the team members are all in unison but at times it is just not plausible but even if it is not plausible the team leader must convince each member of the group and a unanimous decision must be made. Communication is another very important factor, each member in a group must communicate and communication must always be a two way process.

Marketing Strategies of Primark

Marketing Strategies of Primark 1.0 Introduction The research report under consideration is aimed to explore the significant role played by Marketing Strategies in todays modern and dynamic business environment. Marketing has gained substantial importance and has become first priority of decision makers in any organisation. This document presents a research report analyzing and forecasting marketing environment faced by leading retailer Primark with special focus on competitive analysis. Primark Stores Ltd, an Irish upstart and subsidiary of Associated British Foods, is second largest clothing retailer in terms of sales and revenue with its existence mainly in Ireland, UK, Spain and expanding further in the Europe. It is believed that soon it will become leading clothing retailer. This extensive research is aimed at exploring current marketing strategies adopted and evaluating their effectiveness. The critical review of current segmentation, targeting, positioning and branding strategies of Primark and an extensive market analysis is carried out to suggest future marketing strategies and growth areas and to improve and sustain quality of services provided. The expected outcomes of document are recommendations to use marketing strategies tactically in decision making to enjoy sustainable growth. 1.1 Reason for choosing the topic I have selected this topic realizing the fact that in todays intensively competitive business environment, financial successof any company depends on combined efforts of its financial strategy and marketing strategy. In fact, only those companies thrive in business who works closely with their customers; and, marketing has become a successful tool to create a relation with customers indirectly. From small to large, every organisation is realizing that effective marketing strategies can add value and exert tremendous influence over their ability to attract customers, leaving positive impact on companys performance and profitability. â€Å"Marketing is defined as management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably. It involves integrated analysis, planning and control of marking mix variables (Product, Price, Promotion and Distribution) to satisfy both individuals and organizations objectives (Lancaster and Massingham, 1999). Marketing Environment consists of actors; and forces outside that affect marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers (For further information on Marketing Environment, see Appendix I). 1.2 Reason for choosing Retail Industry and Primark Reason for choosing retail industry for research project is because it is a high profile and constantly changing business at the sharp end, but now-a-days, retail industry in UKis under high pressure as key factors like troubled mortgage and housing market, rising fuel prices and utility bills, high interest rates in UK are challenging retail environment as compared to years of strong growth between 2002 and 2004. Formally retail is defined as â€Å"sale of commodities to household or ultimate consumers† (Barry and Evans; 1986).Retail industry can be categorised in various sectors as food retailers, health and beauty retailers, clothing and footwear retailers, home furniture and household goods retailers etc. But now discount, budget or value retailing in UK has taken on a higher profile over recent years despite effects of recession. Especially interests have largely centered on growth of value or discount clothing retail industry. The organisation under focus in this report is Primark known for selling clothes at budget end of market and it is second largest clothing retailer in UK in terms of sales and revenue. Reason for choosing Primark is its wonderfully sustained growth in the worst recession times of history. Retail clothing industry is a fast moving and complex, high profile and constantly changing business environment which demands that marketing process of a large retail organisation like Primark should be managed strategically. Report is aimed at evaluating marketing strategy of Primark and to determine its effectiveness. 2.0 Primark: A Brief Overview Of The Business Primark is a brilliant and unique organisation with a mission statement to enrich the life of everyone with fashionable clothing regardless of social status. It emerged as major force in the British retail industry, contributing through its low price value and great quality fashion products for everyone in society as a whole and leaves remarkable impact on social, environmental and ethical behavior of people. Primark does not rip off its customers and presents excellent example of it motto which states â€Å"look good, pay less† Primark, (2010). Most of their clothes are bought from same factories as other fashion retailers and people producing them are paid exactly the same whatever label and whatever price in shop. Companys success is based on sourcing supply cheaply, they buy directly from factories without involving any agents, making clothes with simple designs and fabrics, only making them in the most popular sizes, buying stock in huge bulks and varieties and targeting young, fashion-conscious buyers under 35s, offering them high quality, fashion basics at value for money prices. They are able to offer such good value and good quality because of low mark-ups and big volumes. Their overhead costs are extremely low as they do not run expensive advertising campaigns; instead they have wonderful strategic marketing approach that stands them out. 3.0 Marketing Strategy Of Primark Retail clothing industry is a fast moving and high profile business environment which demands that marketing process of a retail organisation should be managed strategically. Strategy of an organisation is roadmap towards attainment of its long term goals and objectives. Strategic marketing management involves implementing principles of strategic management in the context of marketing function in organisation. At corporate level, marketing inputs (e.g., competitive analysis, market dynamics, and environmental shifts) are essential for formulating a corporate strategic plan. Primark has well organized strategic Target marketing and Product marketing approaches in place. 3.1 Target Marketing Approach Strategic marketing is about achieving maximum possible differentiation over competition in meeting customer needs, gaining and sustaining competitive advantage and capitalizing on corporate strength and capabilities. In todays dynamic environment, it is highly important for companies to relate characteristics and attributes of their products to customer requirements more closely. Firms are more concerned with the most commercially attractive segments of market for a given product. This not only increases opportunity but also reduces overall costs incurred by company. This process is called target marketing and it must be carried out systematically to be effective and for this purpose it can be divided into three stages as in Figure; 3.1.1 Segmentation At first stage of segmentation, overall market is divided into distinct groups of buyers who are likely to respond favourably to different products, services or marketing mix. Company needs to determine most appropriate basis for segmentation, identify characteristics for each segment and develop criteria to evaluate their commercial attractiveness and viability. Market segmentation allows managers to see clearly the diversity within their markets and uncover opportunities that may exist or segments whose needs have not been properly met by other offerings. Figure, depicts segmentation criteria for consumer market, determines base of segmentation and explains variables for each base As Primark is tagged a value clothing retailer, clothing is most important and leading item in its product portfolio follower by footwear. Its marketing segments are evaluated on basis of clothing and footwear. Although all above determined segmentations bases and variables are important but demographic factors are the most straight forward base for segmenting Primarks consumer market, as they are most meaningful. Main demographic variables for Primark consumer market are identified as in charts below. All demographic factors are identified according to their percentage relative attractiveness for targeting them depending upon their market share for Primark. Hhighlighted segments in diagrams are identified as most meaningful for Primark and they must be targeted to gain marketing objectives. 3.1.2 Targeting Next stage of market targeting focuses on evaluating and selecting one or more previously identified market segments at which to direct marketing resources, developing an appropriate marketing mix for them and develop segment coverage strategy. This selected segment is made focus of comprehensive marketing plan. Kottler (1984) suggested that in order for market segmentation to be effective each of the segments must be distinct, assessable, measurable, and profitable. Once determined which segment attractiveness factors are important, evaluate each of those factor against selected segments using segment attractiveness evaluation matrix below; There are four different targeting approaches can be considered to develop marketing mix to meet marketing objectives. Undifferentiated marketing is used for one marketing mix, targeted towards whole market and marketing mix (Price, Place, Product, Promotion, Distribution), and targets towards everybody. Differentiated marketing is used for multiple marketing mixes and involves multiple products, targeted towards multiple segments. Focused marketing is for one marketing mix and multiple segments with focus on one segment in particular, who will have control over other segments. Customised marketing is used for one marketing mix per customer as in figure below; For Primark, targeting strategy that I have decided to use is differentiated marketing strategy because we have multiple products and consumers can be segmented into multiple segments, hence best approach to be followed is differentiated marketing approach. Different segments identified are based on age, sex, life style, income level and social status and we have multiple products portfolio that can be targeted towards these various segments. 3.1.3 Positioning In third phase of product positioning all marketing mix elements are designed to fit a given place within a particular segment. This is how consumer perceives products relative position to competitors product which is highly important. It is like developing a marketing strategy aimed at creating and maintaining a desired concept and image for a product or service in consumers mind (See Appendix V for further information). Key to success is identification of attributes that are considered to be more important. Through market research we can identify what factors (attributes) are key drivers of a consumers preference for a brand. For instance, it was identified from a sample of female teenagers that were surveyed, that being trendy and stylish, having a good range of clothing, and good brand reputation, were most important factors for this target market when selecting a preferred brand Young Dimension of fashion retailer Primark. Brand positioning provides insight into brand performance and gives important inputs for marketing communications used to support a brand. Through communications, especially advertising, information can be conveyed about each attribute and in doing so adjust perceptions customers have of brand. As Primark need to reposition the perception market has of its brands from range and quality of clothing to be more trendy and stylish. Primark has emphasized more on in-store service and convenience; and as Budget Fashion retailer, they might want to maintain their current positioning of low price, affordable, but also good value for money. 3.2 Product Marketing Approach A companys performance is closely linked to its marketing strategies. Each companys strategy must be unique since each company is different with respect to customer, brands and competitors. I used Ansoff Matrix to determine product marketing strategies for Primark to set the directions for its business. With this matrix; I plot current and potential products along one axis and current and potential new markets along other axis. Thus it demonstrates low and high risk options and helps to think about business growth with new or existing products in new or existing markets. Each cell of matrix suggests a particular strategic approach. Output from Ansoff matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies. Market penetration is a growth strategy where business runs as usual and focuses on selling existing products into existing markets with good information on competitors and on customer needs. Primark can maintain or increase market share of its current products by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion. Primark has extensive portfolio and it cans secure dominance of growth markets and drive out competitors by more aggressive promotional campaign. For example Primark brand Active, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make market unattractive for competitors. Primark must uses internal promotion strategy by introducing loyalty schemes and increases its usage by existing customer. One of penetration strategy adopted by Primark is expansion of shop floors and opening new stores. Market development is a growth strategy where business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including moving to new geographical markets; for example exporting product to a new country, new product dimensions, new distribution channels, or different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments. I suggest Primark to move online by launching high tech website for online sales. Product development is growth strategy where business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. It requires development of new competencies and to develop modified products which can appeal to existing markets. Diversification is a growth strategy where a business launches new products in new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from strategy and an honest assessment of potential risks. Analysing Primarks position and its strategies over past decade, we can better construct a growth strategy for Primark using Ansoff matrix model below in Figure; 4.2.1 Product Portfolio Analysis Marketing mix refers to set of marketing ingredients and tools a company can use to pursue its marketing objectives in target market. According to Lancaster and Massingham; (1999), it is at marketers decision to choose from an extensive set of marketing components to find right combination while marketing a product. 4Ps form basis of marketing mix. Kotler (1996) describes, â€Å"Marketing Mix is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups achieve what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others†. Marketing Mix is viewed as combination of elements that contribute to success of an organisation. If market research is carried out effectively, a company can plan a promotion for right product, at right price, and to get it to their chosen market, in right place.Getting this mix right is critical in order to successfully market a product. 4Ps are Product, Price, Promotion, Place as shown in figure below; Primark needs to combine various elements of marketing mix in order to achieve both a competitive advantage in market place and company objectives. Although company has control over these elements of marketing mix, but must cater elements in companys environment over which it has little or no control (figure above). For organisations like Primark although marketing mix must be is consumer-orientated catering not only profitability but also considering customer needs as in figure, Table below shows some of marketing mix decisions for Primark including aspects from each of marketing mix elements. 4.3 Brand Strategy A successful marketing mix contributes to good marketing of a product; hence there must be a brand strategy in place. American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers†. (See Appendix VI for characteristics of a brand). A strong brand strategy can increase awareness of a company and its offerings in such a way that establishes strong feelings and reactions and a favorable view towards company as a whole. To begin development of brands strategy for Primark, there must be clear identification of Primary Target Customer and/or Client, Competition Product and Service Mix, Unique Selling Proposition First step in developing brand strategy is defining brands. By defining brand, its easy to create foundation for all other components to build on. Brand definition serves as measuring stick in evaluating marketing strategies. Primark has an extensive brand portfolio; Brand portfolio usually refers to companys set of brands and/or products. The logic behind having a portfolio of brands rather than a single brand is possible diversification and risk minimization. Hence brand portfolio is a treasure trove. Next step is to determine our brands objectives, Primarks branding objectives include: Delivers message clearly Confirms your credibility Connects your target prospects emotionally Motivates buyer Concretes User Loyalty Gaining a specific number of new clients in next year Positioning company as an industry leader in next 12 months To succeed in branding company must understand needs and wants of your customers and prospects. Brand objectives should be comprised of company personality, image, core competencies and characteristics. The impressions that it makes as well as words people will use to describe company to others, are basic framework of a brand.   With a strong brand company builds credibility, has more influence on its market, and motivates customers and clients to purchase from it. If done correctly company will be looked at as a leader not a follower. Identifying marketing targets enables company to find opportunities available. It gives information needed to focus on buyers that are interested in what company has to offer. This can save both time and money in an ever-changing business environment. Power of brand relies on ability to focus target audiences. That is why defining target market will help to strengthen Primarks brands effectiveness. Target market for Primark is people up to age of 35 who are fashion conscious. Next step in developing Primarks brand strategy is to perform a careful analysis to determine principal barriers that it may face. These barriers are also known as market conditions that can keep your product or service from achieving success. The potential barriers in deploying Primarks brand strategy can competition, timing, financing, location, lack of demand, suppliers not meeting demands and targets. In order to face these obstacles its important to spend time doing a careful analysis of products or service to assist in developing brand, and positioning products in the market. Last step in brand strategy is branding companys identity in marketplace where image is all about appearance of packaging. Its important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to packaging is when going to launch a new brand. If youve already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close attention to packaging. Packaging is judged and represented by business cards and stationery, web site, answering system, presentation of finished products. Brand equity does not develop instantaneously. A brand needs to be carefully nurtured and marketed so consumers feel real value and trust towards that brand. When a company manages its brands it has a number of strategies it can use to further increase its brand value. (See Appendix VI for further explanation). Brand strategies that are more suitable for Primark are line extension and introduction of new brands. Primark must focus on its brand management as its a dynamic and a continuous process that needs consistent investment of time and it must be allocated a specific budget as it is much more than mere marketing communications. Due to intangible nature of branding, results may not accrue in a short period of time a it takes time and reinforcement to build customer loyalty. Successfully out-branding its competitors is a continuous battle for hearts and minds of your customers. Proposition that Primarks brand strategy makes is very compelling, attractive and unique among competitiv e offerings. It must also be consistently reinforced throughout all phases of an organization, from senior executives to customer service, business development and even business partners. Primark is respected for quality of its products and cheap prices. If we briefly review business environment and other factors identified in this report for Primark then we may realize that consumer behaviour is changing and business environment evolving across retail industry. Concern is rise in suppliers demands regarding price and costs. If it continues to rise steeply it will damage profits that it is currently enjoying. Reviewing forces and factors faced by Primark and their impact on organisation, it is obvious that Primark is facing many challenges and standing at verge of it survival in long term. Market Research World, 2011 revealed that value fashion sector sees worst decline for first time in over 16 years much to gain of higher-priced retailers, reveals data by TNS Worldpanel Fashion. While fashion discounters such as Primark, Tesco, George and Matalan saw a phenomenal sales increase of nearly 30% last summer, growth has now ground to a hold with sales falling by 1% over last six months. In contrast, sales of most expensive clothing are up by 4%, as shoppers head to generally more expensive retailers such as multiples and mail order retailers. Clothing industry has been globalised. Strategies followed by clothing firms, to survive in a context of strong pressure from retailers and from competition from low-wage countries, are a combination of two trends. First trend is relocation of production to low-wage countries; second one is the development of six added-value activities: niche, Quick Response, full package, innovation, branding and retail. Elaine Giles, Research Manager, TNS says, â€Å"Shoppers are starting to favour higher priced retailers and premium end of market is performing well. Growth of value sector last year came on back of new store openings and expansions that brought an influx of new buyers, but now sector seems to have reached saturation point. The only way, budget retailers can continue their success is to increase spend of existing buyers, something they may struggle to do given current retail climate.† 4.0 Strategic Marketing Environment Analysis Primark is one of the leading value clothing retailers in UK. It is highly crucial for an organization like Primark to periodically review its marketing environment to gain competitive advantage in market. Discount cloth retailing in UK has several characteristics including clearance outlets, core business discounters, planned purchasing at high volume, own-label or branding, relationships with manufacturers, attracting customers with good image and service. There are three different analytical tools used to assess marketing environment of an organisation; Porters Five Forces Analysis, SWOT Analysis and PESTLE Analysis. 4.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis First of all Porters Analysis is carried out which is a technique for identifying forces which affect competition level in industry as shown in figure A below; The threat of new entrants in market is a critical element haunting Primark much as there are less entry barriers including low entry costs, high volume of suppliers, vast market in India and china, higher growth space in market, economies of scale, low capital requirements, access to distribution, government policy, low cost product design, access to necessary inputs. But new entrants in industry are not likely to cut their price to defend their market position. In an industry experiencing fast market growth, patents, proprietary knowledge, and brand reputation are also considered as barriers for companies entering industry. Strategic position of a company depends upon the extent to which what it offers is unique and cannot be replaced by something else. Primark has strong brand portfolio which is its uniqueness. As for some of products, like Primark cheap clothing there are alternatives. But there is no substitute for low price of Primarks products. Determinants of these substitution threats include relative price of substitutes, buyer propensity to substitute. Buyers/customers have greatest impact on Primarks strategies as its vision and strategies are customer focused. Hence, it has to cater changing customer trends, their demands and requirements. Customers volume, customer information level and trends, substitute products pull through, price, product difference, brand identity, impact on quality, buyers profit and incentives are few factors that Primark is facing as major challenge in competitive market. Suppliers might have high impact on Primark if they are bigger company and have less competitive market for their products. Primark is facing big challenge from supplier as it has good and long term relationships with its suppliers build on trust but recently three of its main suppliers are found involved in child labour and Primark has to cut-off ties with them immediately which is definitely a big blow for Primark. Primark pays its supplier competitive price for their products to retain them. Primark maintains substitute inputs, and high volume of supplier to avoid extra costs. Apart from five forces identified by Porters Analysis, there are other factors revealed by PESTLE Analysis challenging Primarks position in competitive market, in figure below; (For PESTLE Analysis, refer to Appendix II; and for SWOT Analysis, Appendix III) Strategic marketing analysis of Primark, using different analysis tools reveal that Primark is expanding globally and being in the global market; Primark has adopted an approach of â€Å"Think globally, Act locally† as stated by Armstrong, (2006). They are expanding globally but cater needs of local market and fashion trends in local culture. Primark supports UKs global role by showcasing the best of British fashion to a global customers as well as it reflects how it builds social cohesion and business ethics between customers and its suppliers. Primark faced a major blow to its reputation on 24 June, 2008 after being exposed by and undercover report by BBC exposing it using child labour. Afterwards, Primarks marketing strategy mainly focused to promote itself as ethical organisation with a clear and strict code of conduct to which all suppliers must adhere and which forms part of the terms of their contract. Primark supports nearly two million people through its supply contracts worth  £700 million and is dedicated to improve their standard of living and quality of life. For this, Primark has established ‘Primark Better Lives Foundation (Primark Ethical Trading, 2011 a). In response to the allegations of use of child labour by its suppliers, identified by Panorama (BBC program) Primark stopped buying from three factories in southern India for breaking its Code of Conduct. It also took other major initiatives and is now active member of ETI that announce it ‘Achiever in year 2009-2010 independent audit (Primark Ethical Trading, 2011 b). (For further information on ETI and Primark code of conduct, see Appendix IV) Further apart the positions, greater the opportunity for new brands to enter market, simply because competition is less intense. For example, in fashion retailing there are numerous brands in marketplace all competing with each other across differing core attributes, brand reputation, store presence, price, and clothing quality or trendy and stylish. To show how differing brands might be positioned relative to each other using attribute scores for each brand of fashion retailer we can measure and map brand positioning for respective brands. Figure below shows positioning of a number of fashion retailers using dimensions of price, store presence, and trendy and stylish. Using this list of drivers we can further depict on what we call a perceptual map how different competing brands of fashion retailers in market are positioned according to these drivers.   Understanding complexity associated with different attributes and brands can be made easier by developing a visual representation of each market. These are known as perceptual maps and they are used to determine how various brands are perceived according to key attributes that customers value. Perceptual mappingrepresent a geometric comparison of how competing products are perceived (Sinclair and Stalling, 1990). One thing to note is that closer products/brands are clustered together on a perceptual map, greater the competition. Mapping can provide significant insight into how a market operates. It provides marketers with an insight into how Primarks brands are perceived and it also provides a view about how their competitors brands are perceived. In addition to this substitute products can be uncovered, based on their closeness to each other (Day et al., 1979). All of this data reveals strengths weaknesses that in turn can assist strategic decisions about how to differentiate on attributes that matter to customers and how to compete more effectively in target market. 4.2 Competitor Analysis Like any other business, Primark is also facing tough competition from George at ASDA, Tesco, Marks Spencer, TK Max, Costco, Next, Zara, New Look, Peacock and Matalan. Analysis for each major competitor determines that Primark has better business strength and high market share. It has good financial strengths and high profitability but relatively poor quality of management and low standards of technology position. Primark is paying least attention to its marketing strategies. Marketing represents boundary between marketplace and company, and knowledge of current and emerging happenings in marketplace is extremely important in strategic planning exercise. In relation to competition, several external forces and environmental changes are faced by Primark that need to be considered to formulate its marketing strategy. Currently, Primark is facing high competition with quality competitors like Peacock, Matalan etc. They are offering cheap products as well and growing at tremendous speed, threatening position of Primark. Most of Primark customers are switching to rivals because of their quality products and good marketing strategies which Primark lacks. Marks and Spencer, the biggest rival of Primark has very extensive marketing strategies with strong brand portfolio. They do advertisement on almost every media available; while Primark do not use even single media for advertisement. Marks and Spenc Marketing Strategies of Primark Marketing Strategies of Primark 1.0 Introduction The research report under consideration is aimed to explore the significant role played by Marketing Strategies in todays modern and dynamic business environment. Marketing has gained substantial importance and has become first priority of decision makers in any organisation. This document presents a research report analyzing and forecasting marketing environment faced by leading retailer Primark with special focus on competitive analysis. Primark Stores Ltd, an Irish upstart and subsidiary of Associated British Foods, is second largest clothing retailer in terms of sales and revenue with its existence mainly in Ireland, UK, Spain and expanding further in the Europe. It is believed that soon it will become leading clothing retailer. This extensive research is aimed at exploring current marketing strategies adopted and evaluating their effectiveness. The critical review of current segmentation, targeting, positioning and branding strategies of Primark and an extensive market analysis is carried out to suggest future marketing strategies and growth areas and to improve and sustain quality of services provided. The expected outcomes of document are recommendations to use marketing strategies tactically in decision making to enjoy sustainable growth. 1.1 Reason for choosing the topic I have selected this topic realizing the fact that in todays intensively competitive business environment, financial successof any company depends on combined efforts of its financial strategy and marketing strategy. In fact, only those companies thrive in business who works closely with their customers; and, marketing has become a successful tool to create a relation with customers indirectly. From small to large, every organisation is realizing that effective marketing strategies can add value and exert tremendous influence over their ability to attract customers, leaving positive impact on companys performance and profitability. â€Å"Marketing is defined as management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably. It involves integrated analysis, planning and control of marking mix variables (Product, Price, Promotion and Distribution) to satisfy both individuals and organizations objectives (Lancaster and Massingham, 1999). Marketing Environment consists of actors; and forces outside that affect marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers (For further information on Marketing Environment, see Appendix I). 1.2 Reason for choosing Retail Industry and Primark Reason for choosing retail industry for research project is because it is a high profile and constantly changing business at the sharp end, but now-a-days, retail industry in UKis under high pressure as key factors like troubled mortgage and housing market, rising fuel prices and utility bills, high interest rates in UK are challenging retail environment as compared to years of strong growth between 2002 and 2004. Formally retail is defined as â€Å"sale of commodities to household or ultimate consumers† (Barry and Evans; 1986).Retail industry can be categorised in various sectors as food retailers, health and beauty retailers, clothing and footwear retailers, home furniture and household goods retailers etc. But now discount, budget or value retailing in UK has taken on a higher profile over recent years despite effects of recession. Especially interests have largely centered on growth of value or discount clothing retail industry. The organisation under focus in this report is Primark known for selling clothes at budget end of market and it is second largest clothing retailer in UK in terms of sales and revenue. Reason for choosing Primark is its wonderfully sustained growth in the worst recession times of history. Retail clothing industry is a fast moving and complex, high profile and constantly changing business environment which demands that marketing process of a large retail organisation like Primark should be managed strategically. Report is aimed at evaluating marketing strategy of Primark and to determine its effectiveness. 2.0 Primark: A Brief Overview Of The Business Primark is a brilliant and unique organisation with a mission statement to enrich the life of everyone with fashionable clothing regardless of social status. It emerged as major force in the British retail industry, contributing through its low price value and great quality fashion products for everyone in society as a whole and leaves remarkable impact on social, environmental and ethical behavior of people. Primark does not rip off its customers and presents excellent example of it motto which states â€Å"look good, pay less† Primark, (2010). Most of their clothes are bought from same factories as other fashion retailers and people producing them are paid exactly the same whatever label and whatever price in shop. Companys success is based on sourcing supply cheaply, they buy directly from factories without involving any agents, making clothes with simple designs and fabrics, only making them in the most popular sizes, buying stock in huge bulks and varieties and targeting young, fashion-conscious buyers under 35s, offering them high quality, fashion basics at value for money prices. They are able to offer such good value and good quality because of low mark-ups and big volumes. Their overhead costs are extremely low as they do not run expensive advertising campaigns; instead they have wonderful strategic marketing approach that stands them out. 3.0 Marketing Strategy Of Primark Retail clothing industry is a fast moving and high profile business environment which demands that marketing process of a retail organisation should be managed strategically. Strategy of an organisation is roadmap towards attainment of its long term goals and objectives. Strategic marketing management involves implementing principles of strategic management in the context of marketing function in organisation. At corporate level, marketing inputs (e.g., competitive analysis, market dynamics, and environmental shifts) are essential for formulating a corporate strategic plan. Primark has well organized strategic Target marketing and Product marketing approaches in place. 3.1 Target Marketing Approach Strategic marketing is about achieving maximum possible differentiation over competition in meeting customer needs, gaining and sustaining competitive advantage and capitalizing on corporate strength and capabilities. In todays dynamic environment, it is highly important for companies to relate characteristics and attributes of their products to customer requirements more closely. Firms are more concerned with the most commercially attractive segments of market for a given product. This not only increases opportunity but also reduces overall costs incurred by company. This process is called target marketing and it must be carried out systematically to be effective and for this purpose it can be divided into three stages as in Figure; 3.1.1 Segmentation At first stage of segmentation, overall market is divided into distinct groups of buyers who are likely to respond favourably to different products, services or marketing mix. Company needs to determine most appropriate basis for segmentation, identify characteristics for each segment and develop criteria to evaluate their commercial attractiveness and viability. Market segmentation allows managers to see clearly the diversity within their markets and uncover opportunities that may exist or segments whose needs have not been properly met by other offerings. Figure, depicts segmentation criteria for consumer market, determines base of segmentation and explains variables for each base As Primark is tagged a value clothing retailer, clothing is most important and leading item in its product portfolio follower by footwear. Its marketing segments are evaluated on basis of clothing and footwear. Although all above determined segmentations bases and variables are important but demographic factors are the most straight forward base for segmenting Primarks consumer market, as they are most meaningful. Main demographic variables for Primark consumer market are identified as in charts below. All demographic factors are identified according to their percentage relative attractiveness for targeting them depending upon their market share for Primark. Hhighlighted segments in diagrams are identified as most meaningful for Primark and they must be targeted to gain marketing objectives. 3.1.2 Targeting Next stage of market targeting focuses on evaluating and selecting one or more previously identified market segments at which to direct marketing resources, developing an appropriate marketing mix for them and develop segment coverage strategy. This selected segment is made focus of comprehensive marketing plan. Kottler (1984) suggested that in order for market segmentation to be effective each of the segments must be distinct, assessable, measurable, and profitable. Once determined which segment attractiveness factors are important, evaluate each of those factor against selected segments using segment attractiveness evaluation matrix below; There are four different targeting approaches can be considered to develop marketing mix to meet marketing objectives. Undifferentiated marketing is used for one marketing mix, targeted towards whole market and marketing mix (Price, Place, Product, Promotion, Distribution), and targets towards everybody. Differentiated marketing is used for multiple marketing mixes and involves multiple products, targeted towards multiple segments. Focused marketing is for one marketing mix and multiple segments with focus on one segment in particular, who will have control over other segments. Customised marketing is used for one marketing mix per customer as in figure below; For Primark, targeting strategy that I have decided to use is differentiated marketing strategy because we have multiple products and consumers can be segmented into multiple segments, hence best approach to be followed is differentiated marketing approach. Different segments identified are based on age, sex, life style, income level and social status and we have multiple products portfolio that can be targeted towards these various segments. 3.1.3 Positioning In third phase of product positioning all marketing mix elements are designed to fit a given place within a particular segment. This is how consumer perceives products relative position to competitors product which is highly important. It is like developing a marketing strategy aimed at creating and maintaining a desired concept and image for a product or service in consumers mind (See Appendix V for further information). Key to success is identification of attributes that are considered to be more important. Through market research we can identify what factors (attributes) are key drivers of a consumers preference for a brand. For instance, it was identified from a sample of female teenagers that were surveyed, that being trendy and stylish, having a good range of clothing, and good brand reputation, were most important factors for this target market when selecting a preferred brand Young Dimension of fashion retailer Primark. Brand positioning provides insight into brand performance and gives important inputs for marketing communications used to support a brand. Through communications, especially advertising, information can be conveyed about each attribute and in doing so adjust perceptions customers have of brand. As Primark need to reposition the perception market has of its brands from range and quality of clothing to be more trendy and stylish. Primark has emphasized more on in-store service and convenience; and as Budget Fashion retailer, they might want to maintain their current positioning of low price, affordable, but also good value for money. 3.2 Product Marketing Approach A companys performance is closely linked to its marketing strategies. Each companys strategy must be unique since each company is different with respect to customer, brands and competitors. I used Ansoff Matrix to determine product marketing strategies for Primark to set the directions for its business. With this matrix; I plot current and potential products along one axis and current and potential new markets along other axis. Thus it demonstrates low and high risk options and helps to think about business growth with new or existing products in new or existing markets. Each cell of matrix suggests a particular strategic approach. Output from Ansoff matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies. Market penetration is a growth strategy where business runs as usual and focuses on selling existing products into existing markets with good information on competitors and on customer needs. Primark can maintain or increase market share of its current products by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion. Primark has extensive portfolio and it cans secure dominance of growth markets and drive out competitors by more aggressive promotional campaign. For example Primark brand Active, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make market unattractive for competitors. Primark must uses internal promotion strategy by introducing loyalty schemes and increases its usage by existing customer. One of penetration strategy adopted by Primark is expansion of shop floors and opening new stores. Market development is a growth strategy where business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including moving to new geographical markets; for example exporting product to a new country, new product dimensions, new distribution channels, or different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments. I suggest Primark to move online by launching high tech website for online sales. Product development is growth strategy where business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. It requires development of new competencies and to develop modified products which can appeal to existing markets. Diversification is a growth strategy where a business launches new products in new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from strategy and an honest assessment of potential risks. Analysing Primarks position and its strategies over past decade, we can better construct a growth strategy for Primark using Ansoff matrix model below in Figure; 4.2.1 Product Portfolio Analysis Marketing mix refers to set of marketing ingredients and tools a company can use to pursue its marketing objectives in target market. According to Lancaster and Massingham; (1999), it is at marketers decision to choose from an extensive set of marketing components to find right combination while marketing a product. 4Ps form basis of marketing mix. Kotler (1996) describes, â€Å"Marketing Mix is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups achieve what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others†. Marketing Mix is viewed as combination of elements that contribute to success of an organisation. If market research is carried out effectively, a company can plan a promotion for right product, at right price, and to get it to their chosen market, in right place.Getting this mix right is critical in order to successfully market a product. 4Ps are Product, Price, Promotion, Place as shown in figure below; Primark needs to combine various elements of marketing mix in order to achieve both a competitive advantage in market place and company objectives. Although company has control over these elements of marketing mix, but must cater elements in companys environment over which it has little or no control (figure above). For organisations like Primark although marketing mix must be is consumer-orientated catering not only profitability but also considering customer needs as in figure, Table below shows some of marketing mix decisions for Primark including aspects from each of marketing mix elements. 4.3 Brand Strategy A successful marketing mix contributes to good marketing of a product; hence there must be a brand strategy in place. American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers†. (See Appendix VI for characteristics of a brand). A strong brand strategy can increase awareness of a company and its offerings in such a way that establishes strong feelings and reactions and a favorable view towards company as a whole. To begin development of brands strategy for Primark, there must be clear identification of Primary Target Customer and/or Client, Competition Product and Service Mix, Unique Selling Proposition First step in developing brand strategy is defining brands. By defining brand, its easy to create foundation for all other components to build on. Brand definition serves as measuring stick in evaluating marketing strategies. Primark has an extensive brand portfolio; Brand portfolio usually refers to companys set of brands and/or products. The logic behind having a portfolio of brands rather than a single brand is possible diversification and risk minimization. Hence brand portfolio is a treasure trove. Next step is to determine our brands objectives, Primarks branding objectives include: Delivers message clearly Confirms your credibility Connects your target prospects emotionally Motivates buyer Concretes User Loyalty Gaining a specific number of new clients in next year Positioning company as an industry leader in next 12 months To succeed in branding company must understand needs and wants of your customers and prospects. Brand objectives should be comprised of company personality, image, core competencies and characteristics. The impressions that it makes as well as words people will use to describe company to others, are basic framework of a brand.   With a strong brand company builds credibility, has more influence on its market, and motivates customers and clients to purchase from it. If done correctly company will be looked at as a leader not a follower. Identifying marketing targets enables company to find opportunities available. It gives information needed to focus on buyers that are interested in what company has to offer. This can save both time and money in an ever-changing business environment. Power of brand relies on ability to focus target audiences. That is why defining target market will help to strengthen Primarks brands effectiveness. Target market for Primark is people up to age of 35 who are fashion conscious. Next step in developing Primarks brand strategy is to perform a careful analysis to determine principal barriers that it may face. These barriers are also known as market conditions that can keep your product or service from achieving success. The potential barriers in deploying Primarks brand strategy can competition, timing, financing, location, lack of demand, suppliers not meeting demands and targets. In order to face these obstacles its important to spend time doing a careful analysis of products or service to assist in developing brand, and positioning products in the market. Last step in brand strategy is branding companys identity in marketplace where image is all about appearance of packaging. Its important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to packaging is when going to launch a new brand. If youve already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close attention to packaging. Packaging is judged and represented by business cards and stationery, web site, answering system, presentation of finished products. Brand equity does not develop instantaneously. A brand needs to be carefully nurtured and marketed so consumers feel real value and trust towards that brand. When a company manages its brands it has a number of strategies it can use to further increase its brand value. (See Appendix VI for further explanation). Brand strategies that are more suitable for Primark are line extension and introduction of new brands. Primark must focus on its brand management as its a dynamic and a continuous process that needs consistent investment of time and it must be allocated a specific budget as it is much more than mere marketing communications. Due to intangible nature of branding, results may not accrue in a short period of time a it takes time and reinforcement to build customer loyalty. Successfully out-branding its competitors is a continuous battle for hearts and minds of your customers. Proposition that Primarks brand strategy makes is very compelling, attractive and unique among competitiv e offerings. It must also be consistently reinforced throughout all phases of an organization, from senior executives to customer service, business development and even business partners. Primark is respected for quality of its products and cheap prices. If we briefly review business environment and other factors identified in this report for Primark then we may realize that consumer behaviour is changing and business environment evolving across retail industry. Concern is rise in suppliers demands regarding price and costs. If it continues to rise steeply it will damage profits that it is currently enjoying. Reviewing forces and factors faced by Primark and their impact on organisation, it is obvious that Primark is facing many challenges and standing at verge of it survival in long term. Market Research World, 2011 revealed that value fashion sector sees worst decline for first time in over 16 years much to gain of higher-priced retailers, reveals data by TNS Worldpanel Fashion. While fashion discounters such as Primark, Tesco, George and Matalan saw a phenomenal sales increase of nearly 30% last summer, growth has now ground to a hold with sales falling by 1% over last six months. In contrast, sales of most expensive clothing are up by 4%, as shoppers head to generally more expensive retailers such as multiples and mail order retailers. Clothing industry has been globalised. Strategies followed by clothing firms, to survive in a context of strong pressure from retailers and from competition from low-wage countries, are a combination of two trends. First trend is relocation of production to low-wage countries; second one is the development of six added-value activities: niche, Quick Response, full package, innovation, branding and retail. Elaine Giles, Research Manager, TNS says, â€Å"Shoppers are starting to favour higher priced retailers and premium end of market is performing well. Growth of value sector last year came on back of new store openings and expansions that brought an influx of new buyers, but now sector seems to have reached saturation point. The only way, budget retailers can continue their success is to increase spend of existing buyers, something they may struggle to do given current retail climate.† 4.0 Strategic Marketing Environment Analysis Primark is one of the leading value clothing retailers in UK. It is highly crucial for an organization like Primark to periodically review its marketing environment to gain competitive advantage in market. Discount cloth retailing in UK has several characteristics including clearance outlets, core business discounters, planned purchasing at high volume, own-label or branding, relationships with manufacturers, attracting customers with good image and service. There are three different analytical tools used to assess marketing environment of an organisation; Porters Five Forces Analysis, SWOT Analysis and PESTLE Analysis. 4.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis First of all Porters Analysis is carried out which is a technique for identifying forces which affect competition level in industry as shown in figure A below; The threat of new entrants in market is a critical element haunting Primark much as there are less entry barriers including low entry costs, high volume of suppliers, vast market in India and china, higher growth space in market, economies of scale, low capital requirements, access to distribution, government policy, low cost product design, access to necessary inputs. But new entrants in industry are not likely to cut their price to defend their market position. In an industry experiencing fast market growth, patents, proprietary knowledge, and brand reputation are also considered as barriers for companies entering industry. Strategic position of a company depends upon the extent to which what it offers is unique and cannot be replaced by something else. Primark has strong brand portfolio which is its uniqueness. As for some of products, like Primark cheap clothing there are alternatives. But there is no substitute for low price of Primarks products. Determinants of these substitution threats include relative price of substitutes, buyer propensity to substitute. Buyers/customers have greatest impact on Primarks strategies as its vision and strategies are customer focused. Hence, it has to cater changing customer trends, their demands and requirements. Customers volume, customer information level and trends, substitute products pull through, price, product difference, brand identity, impact on quality, buyers profit and incentives are few factors that Primark is facing as major challenge in competitive market. Suppliers might have high impact on Primark if they are bigger company and have less competitive market for their products. Primark is facing big challenge from supplier as it has good and long term relationships with its suppliers build on trust but recently three of its main suppliers are found involved in child labour and Primark has to cut-off ties with them immediately which is definitely a big blow for Primark. Primark pays its supplier competitive price for their products to retain them. Primark maintains substitute inputs, and high volume of supplier to avoid extra costs. Apart from five forces identified by Porters Analysis, there are other factors revealed by PESTLE Analysis challenging Primarks position in competitive market, in figure below; (For PESTLE Analysis, refer to Appendix II; and for SWOT Analysis, Appendix III) Strategic marketing analysis of Primark, using different analysis tools reveal that Primark is expanding globally and being in the global market; Primark has adopted an approach of â€Å"Think globally, Act locally† as stated by Armstrong, (2006). They are expanding globally but cater needs of local market and fashion trends in local culture. Primark supports UKs global role by showcasing the best of British fashion to a global customers as well as it reflects how it builds social cohesion and business ethics between customers and its suppliers. Primark faced a major blow to its reputation on 24 June, 2008 after being exposed by and undercover report by BBC exposing it using child labour. Afterwards, Primarks marketing strategy mainly focused to promote itself as ethical organisation with a clear and strict code of conduct to which all suppliers must adhere and which forms part of the terms of their contract. Primark supports nearly two million people through its supply contracts worth  £700 million and is dedicated to improve their standard of living and quality of life. For this, Primark has established ‘Primark Better Lives Foundation (Primark Ethical Trading, 2011 a). In response to the allegations of use of child labour by its suppliers, identified by Panorama (BBC program) Primark stopped buying from three factories in southern India for breaking its Code of Conduct. It also took other major initiatives and is now active member of ETI that announce it ‘Achiever in year 2009-2010 independent audit (Primark Ethical Trading, 2011 b). (For further information on ETI and Primark code of conduct, see Appendix IV) Further apart the positions, greater the opportunity for new brands to enter market, simply because competition is less intense. For example, in fashion retailing there are numerous brands in marketplace all competing with each other across differing core attributes, brand reputation, store presence, price, and clothing quality or trendy and stylish. To show how differing brands might be positioned relative to each other using attribute scores for each brand of fashion retailer we can measure and map brand positioning for respective brands. Figure below shows positioning of a number of fashion retailers using dimensions of price, store presence, and trendy and stylish. Using this list of drivers we can further depict on what we call a perceptual map how different competing brands of fashion retailers in market are positioned according to these drivers.   Understanding complexity associated with different attributes and brands can be made easier by developing a visual representation of each market. These are known as perceptual maps and they are used to determine how various brands are perceived according to key attributes that customers value. Perceptual mappingrepresent a geometric comparison of how competing products are perceived (Sinclair and Stalling, 1990). One thing to note is that closer products/brands are clustered together on a perceptual map, greater the competition. Mapping can provide significant insight into how a market operates. It provides marketers with an insight into how Primarks brands are perceived and it also provides a view about how their competitors brands are perceived. In addition to this substitute products can be uncovered, based on their closeness to each other (Day et al., 1979). All of this data reveals strengths weaknesses that in turn can assist strategic decisions about how to differentiate on attributes that matter to customers and how to compete more effectively in target market. 4.2 Competitor Analysis Like any other business, Primark is also facing tough competition from George at ASDA, Tesco, Marks Spencer, TK Max, Costco, Next, Zara, New Look, Peacock and Matalan. Analysis for each major competitor determines that Primark has better business strength and high market share. It has good financial strengths and high profitability but relatively poor quality of management and low standards of technology position. Primark is paying least attention to its marketing strategies. Marketing represents boundary between marketplace and company, and knowledge of current and emerging happenings in marketplace is extremely important in strategic planning exercise. In relation to competition, several external forces and environmental changes are faced by Primark that need to be considered to formulate its marketing strategy. Currently, Primark is facing high competition with quality competitors like Peacock, Matalan etc. They are offering cheap products as well and growing at tremendous speed, threatening position of Primark. Most of Primark customers are switching to rivals because of their quality products and good marketing strategies which Primark lacks. Marks and Spencer, the biggest rival of Primark has very extensive marketing strategies with strong brand portfolio. They do advertisement on almost every media available; while Primark do not use even single media for advertisement. Marks and Spenc

Hey There Delilah Chord

INTRO D, F#m, D, F#m VERSE 1 D F#m Hey there Delilah, What’s it like in New York City? D F#m I’m a thousand miles away, But girl tonight you look so pretty, Bm G A Bm Yes you do, Time Square can’t shine as bright as you, A I swear it’s true. D F#m Hey there Delilah, Don’t you worry about the distance, D F#m I’m right there if you get lonely, Give this song another listen, Bm G A Bm Close your eyes, Listen to my voice it’s my disguise, A I’m by your side. CHORUS D Bm D Bm Oh it’s what you do to me, Oh it’s what you do to me, D Bm D Bm Oh it’s what you do to me, Oh it’s what you do to me, D What you do to me. VERSE 2 D F#m Hey there Delilah, I know times are getting hard, D F#m But just believe me girl some day, I'll pay the bills with this guitar, Bm G A Bm We'll have it good, We'll have the life we knew we would, A My word is good. D F#m Hey there Delilah, I’ve got so much left to say, D F#m If every simple song I wrote to you, Would take your breath away, Bm G A Bm I’d write it all, Even more in love with me you’d fall, A We’d have it all. CHORUS D Bm D Bm Oh it’s what you do to me, Oh it’s what you do to me, D Bm D Bm Oh it’s what you do to me, Oh it’s what you do to me, Bridge G A A thousand miles seems pretty far, But they’ve got planes and trains and cars, D Bm I’d walk to you if I had no other way G A Our friends would all make fun of us, And we'll just laugh along because, D Bm We know that none of them have felt this way, G A Delilah I can promise you, That by the time that we get through, Bm A The world will never ever be the same, And you’re to blame. VERSE 3 D F#m Hey there Delilah you be good, And don’t you miss me, D F#m Two more years and you’ll be done with school, And I'll be making history, Bm G A Bm Like I do, You’ll know it's all because of you, G A Bm We can do whatever we want to, G A Bm A Hey there Delilah here's to you, This one’s for you. FINAL CHORUS D Bm D Bm Oh it’s what you do to me, Oh it’s what you do to me, D Bm D Bm Oh it’s what you do to me, Oh it’s what you do to me, D What you do to me. Bm D Bm D Bm D Bm D D Ohhh

Bermuda Triangle Research Paper Essay

Lying behind a shroud of mystery deep in its misty waters lies a secret yet to be discovered, a secret harboring lost planes and artifacts from history’s darkest disappearances. This unexplored â€Å"Devil’s Sea† is more commonly known to many as the illusive Bermuda Triangle. This very interesting area has gone unexplored for centuries, even with the mysterious absences of air and sea vessels attributed to this very spot. Although unexplored, it is not left well alone in the minds of many, rather, it has been observed through technology such as satellites and radar; as well as mechanical ships controlled from land. It has also peaked the interest of those more interested in giving the Triangle a more, â€Å"dark† personality. These many observers have attributed the events and tragic catastrophes of the Bermuda to the occult, any other-worldly object, person, or thing that could in theory cause these strange occurrences. More over, the government and scientists more than often attribute the mystery of this unknown terrain to be, not a mystery, but a natural geographic phenomenon. A disaster due to possible magnetic disturbance, or natural weather happenings, etc. Believe what theorists will about the Bermuda Triangle, but to really understand any logic behind the science of the Bermuda, we must go back to the very first act of this mysterious region, to the beginning of a legend’s birth. The region described as the Bermuda Triangle was set in the location of an invisible ‘triangle’;which is connected at Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the Bermuda. Its official title as the ‘Bermuda’ Triangle was decided because it had been at first thought that the disappearances that occurred were restricted to the area of that around just the Bermuda. The Bermuda Triangle received its name as the result of the disappearance of six Navy planes and their crew on December 5, 1945 (Berlitz 21). This flight is commonly known to the public as Flight 19. This specific group of planes left Fort Lauderdale that morning with no difficulties, that is, until they flew over what is now the Bermuda Triangle. They reported being lost and disoriented, and could not determine exactly where they were. The flight leader, Lieutenant Charles Taylor even stated when asked to assume bearing west, â€Å"We don’t know which way is west. Everything is wrong†¦ Strange†¦ We can’t be sure of any direction-even the ocean doesn’t look as it should†¦ â€Å". It had eventually become to difficult to hear messages from Flight 19 due to static. Shortly after receiving their last message from Flight 19, the search units received a message stating that six planes (the five Navy planes and the rescue plane) were missing (Berlitz 24). This caused many to give an official name to said region, as though society was putting up a wall as some sort of recognition and respect to the Bermuda Triangle’s strange,yet very real,danger. This very disappearance also sparked curiosity about the Triangle in the minds of both scientists and theorists. These theorists and common people began to create their own explanations for these strange disappearances. Explanations that ranged from worm holes to aliens, depending on the person. More than often did these theories possess to a relation with the occult, often referring to alien intelligence or paranormal phenomena. The truth behind these ‘theories’ ranges from believable to unbelievable just as easy as one may guess. What may help to understand these strange and various ideas, would be to begin with one of the most popular; human error. Otherwise known as pilot disorientation, it is less of a theory and more of a common idea. Based upon thinking that the pilots in the Bermuda Triangle would often get lost due to turbulent weather patterns, popular tourist traffic, swift currents and an indeterminable landscape. Theorists say that these factorial characteristics could make it easy to lose one’s way, and that once you’re a little bit off, it is only a few more turns until you are lost. This would mean being rendered unable to fuel up or avoid rough weather in the case of emergency (Science Channel 1) This could be a logical explanation , it is true that human misconception can be at fault for many of the mistakes of mankind. Although some theorists have it well endowed in their brains that mother nature itself is the main culprit at fault. This next theory is created due to the disastrous weather patterns found in the tropical region of the Bermuda Triangle. Prone to intense and sever torms, and the fact it is literally right in the middle of hurricane valley, gives many theorists enough to infer that this region is nothing more than a dangerous sea. Not only that, but along with the swift-moving Gulf Stream that cuts into the triangle, this becomes a very unnavigable terrain for above land vessels. Add to that the underwater geography of the deep and rugged Puerto Rico trench (the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean) and this area becomes a literal death zone (Science Channel 1). Also based on a naturally occurring phenomenon, is the theory of unstable magnetic fields. Often attributed to the well-known myths about askew compasses and the legend that the Bermuda is one of the only two places on the planet that points true north. This is true,but only to some sense. There was only one time, during the 19th century, that the Bermuda was a place where a compass could point true north without having to calibrate or calculate the variation in Earth’s natural magnetic field. Although, because the Earth’s magnetic fields are always changing, so does the variations accounted for by compasses. In modern day, the Bermuda Triangle does not sit in any form of abnormal magnetic area, and pilots and sailors know now to adjust compasses to magnetic and true north (Science Channel 1-2). Even as far-fetched as magnetic field abnormalities may seem to some scientists, it is no where near the as illogical as the next theory will appear. The first of are more supernatural theories, is none other than the fabled, lost civilization of Atlantis. For those who believe in the legendary aquatic city of Atlantis, there could raise an argument. Theorists say that remnants of intense energy crystals once used to fuel the city were now residing in the Bermuda Triangle interfering with airplane and ships electronics. This proof is based off of a mirrored pyramid like structure said to be founded by a scuba diving Atlantis proponent in 1970. Although, there is no proof of this find. Others base this off of the Bimini road; a strange rock formation composed of uniform, seemingly sculpted towers of rock just of the coast of the Bahamian island of Bimini. Most geologists say it’s a work of natural forces, whereas Atlantis proponents state it was once a dock (Science Channel 2). Considering the subject of foreign civilizations, comes the next theory on the list. Here begins the start of the more â€Å"occult-based† theorems existing in society, is the ever-famous UFO/alien theory. The most common association with extra terrestrial forces is the acclamation that a downed space ship, or dangerous alien mechanics of some sort, is residing in or below the region of the Bermuda Triangle. The same theory is often attributed with a similar triangular-like region of the coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean. This particular myth states that human ships and planes get caught in the portal at the wrong time, ultimately ending up trapped in between dimensions (Science Channel 2). Up next is yet another theory associated with extra terrestrial intelligence. Contrary to the idea of actual alien population in the Bermuda Triangle, is the theory of government testing. Rather than the rumored ‘Area 51†², this theory points us to a base that is known as AUTEC (for Atlantic undersea test and evaluation center) It is located on the Bahamas’ Andros Island, right in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. It is used to test navy subs, weapons, and sonar. Although this theory claims that it isn’t all they test. Theorists insist that the government is working with alien or extra terrestrial intelligence and that the AUTEC is actually reverse-engineering alien technology (Science Channel 3). Although the government has its own input on the Bermuda Triangle, so none of this is directly proven. As well as the fact that there are currently no US Government-issued maps that delineate the boundaries of the Bermuda Triangle (Rosenberg 1) (Navy 2). This is surprisingly the only well-known government based theory on the Bermuda Triangle. Of course,this is a quite accusative view of the government; but it is at least based off of more than one person’s idea rather then the next theory on the list. One of the more popular theories associated with the Bermuda Triangle, but not the most common, is the time vortex or ‘electronic fog’ theory. This theory came into existence from a single incident. In 1970, Floridian pilot Bruce Gernon and his father were a route from Andros Island to Bimini Island in the Bahamas when they came across a strange cloud that they say grew xponentially before morphing into a tunnel. He apparently flew into the vortex, and as Gernon claims, â€Å"emerge in a thick electronic fog with a white haze surrounding the plane†. Apparently his compass spun wildly and electrical sparks surrounded him. He said once the fog parted he found himself miles from where he was, and because he was farther away from his original location than he could have ever possibly traveled in that time; he concluded himself he must have traveled through a time travel tunnel (Science Channel 3). This theory, although based on one man, is still more commonly known to the public than the next two, even though they consist of more logic than many other theories. This theory is one more based of a chemistry based outtake, and is more likely to explain the nautical disappearances rather than the aircraft phenomena. The non-circulated theory of methane hydrates. Beneath the deep under the surface, lie pockets of trapped methane gas. Ready to be released by seismic activity or underwater landslides. This gas reaching surface is said to reduce the density of water. Any ship in that area of water would supposedly lose buoyancy a sink. In another theory,if enough of the flammable gas reached surface and went high into the air, it could be ignited by an engine’s spark. Although, the Bermuda Triangle is far from the one area methane hydrates exist-it isn’t even an area of high concentration. It is possible these could pose a threat though, but whether the explosion from these hydrates is powerful enough to sink a vessel is unknown (Science Channel 3-4). This is not a very famous theory, although it is still more well-known than the next theory, even though it is not as well-supported or as logical. This theory includes some of the sea-faring villains we have heard about in history books; pirates. Although one of the most childish of theories,it has been a consistent problem near the triangle region for hundreds of years. This theory is based on the fact that because of the circulation of other myths, a ship or vessel committing piracy could get away with a simple â€Å"it wasn’t me blame it on the ghosts/aliens/storms/and etc. † While this theory wouldn’t cover aircraft disappearances, it could explain some of the missing ships in the area (Science Channel 4). Even though there isn’t much, if any, proof of this last theory; it still holds its place as well-proven compared to the next theory. The most far-fetched (and least popular) of our theories is that of an 11,000-year-old comet. According to these theorists, a comet that may or may not have crashed to earth 11,000 years ago could have landed on the ocean floor right beneath the Bermuda Triangle. Theorists speculate that this specific comet could have abnormal electromagnetic properties that interrupt with navigational tools and engines of aircrafts and ships. This comet has not been found, or at least not yet. Due to the possibility of trenches that can be tens of thousands of feet deep, proof may never be found of the existence or falsehood of such a comet (Science Channel 4). Any theories besides these last few are not very well-known, but we can be sure there are plenty more. The Bermuda Triangle is yet another mystery still waiting to be solved, even with its own vast collection of rumors. The Bermuda Triangle is a region full of mystery, and one of the world’s greatest fabled myths. Beginning as a simple assumption, and growing into a legend of high stature; this region is famous whether real or rumor. The mystery of the Bermuda is in itself a unique feat, and exploring its origins is just one step above. Although we can not prove the authenticity of any of these theories, the very thought can send one towards a realm of their own creation; pondering over what may or may not be. A devil of the sea, a curse to the air, and a marvel to the land; the Bermuda Triangle is just one mysterious legend that may never quite be conquered.

Education in the State of Georgia

Education in the State of Georgia Introduction: Overview of Education in the State of Georgia Education in the USA is one of the most problematic issues that the federal, state, and local government faces in the 21st century for the sake of national advancement, development, and evolution.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Education in the State of Georgia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Obviously, there are a number of state educational standards, and each state has its own number of private and public schools, administers a set of statewide testing and certification procedures, etc.; however, the disapproval of existing norms, policies, and regulations in the educational field is growing. The reasons for disapproval and discontentment may be found in irrational curriculum, excessive focus on pursuit of good certification grades, low access to prestigious educational establishments, and rising costs of education. As noted by the librarian Joseph Curasso, â€Å"this is what the education revolutionaries have sowed: dumbed-down standards, narrow curriculums, meaningless test drilling, and union busting. Through large grants to cash strapped states, dependent on such stipulations as not granting teacher tenure in less than three years and ‘ensuring successful conditions for high performing charter schools and other innovative schools’, large donations to both political parties, and hundreds of millions of dollars in media advocacy big money philanthropists have been able to shape the education debate and be fawned upon by the national media (cited in Richardson, 2011, para. 2)†. However, approaching the US educational system at the nationwide level is highly ineffective, since all US states enjoy a considerable level of autonomy from the federal government, which explains serious gaps between state standards of healthcare, education, and quality of life. Therefore, it proves more efficient to treat t he problem at the statewide level in order to identify its common practices, rules, policies, and regulations for the sake of further identification of strengths and weaknesses thereof.Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The comprehensive analysis of the educational system of any state is likely to provide a realistic picture of the current situation with its pros and cons; it will enable the researcher to produce a set of feasible recommendations regarding the ways to improve and advance the educational practices, curriculum, and related issues. Taking into account these considerations, the researcher focuses on the analysis of the educational system in Georgia in the present paper; educational options and programs, standards and certifications, curricula and educational success rankings will be analyzed for the sake of making a conclusion about the current state of Georgia’s education development as well as the ways to introduce the optimal and constructive reform to it. According to the NEA Research (2011) estimate, the total revenue receipts in Georgia accounted $22,328,160,000, state and local revenue receipts equaled $20,330,754,000, which is 46.8% for the state and local revenues, and 48.9% of local revenues as compared to the total revenue amount (p. 67). The expenditures for education in Georgia accounted $18,536,859,000, and $10,971 per pupil in ENR in 2010-2011 (NEA Research, 2011, p. 67). At the same time, the salaries of instructional staff equaled $56,575, and the salaries of teachers were estimated at the rate of $53,906 per annum (NEA Research, 2011, p. 67). The estimate for the overall Southeast region (into which the state of Georgia was included in the NEA Research) in terms of operating school districts was 1,604 in 2011; the 2010 enrolment equaled 832,721 pupils in elementary schools, and 856,927 pupils in secondary schools (NEA research, 2011, p. 86). In addition, the estimate for enrolment (despite the low number of school districts as compared to other regions) was 24.4%, which is nearly a quarter of all US pupils (NEA Research, 2011, p. 70). The overall number of schools in Georgia is 2,221, according to the official data published at the site of the Georgia Department of Education (2012). Only 1,718 schools meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), which is 77.4% of the total number of schools. The present situation raises certain worries in the circles of educators and policymakers, since the expenditures for public schools account for $18,536,859,000 statewide.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Education in the State of Georgia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Expenditures per student equal $11,315 in ADA and $10,971 in ENR (NEA Research, 2011, p. 96). The expenditures for other programs in Georgia account for $3 4,610, which is a rather low indicator, and the capital outlay in Georgia is estimated at the level of $200,875,000. Finally, the interest on school debt equals $249,070,000 in Georgia, which is growing in comparison with the 2009-2010 estimate of $249,034,000 (NEA Research, 2011, p. 96). According to the data of the Georgia Department of Education (2012), students in Georgiaschools have to pass the End of Course Test (EOCT) in high schools in grades 9-12, the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) in grades 1-8, and the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) in order to get high school diplomas. The performance on these key tests is also highly indicative of the academic performance and rating of the state in the overall US-wide scale. Thus, the most recent figures on these tests can be seen in Figures 1-4: Figure 1. CRCT Statistics for 1 Source: from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2010), Retrieved from gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102StateI d=ALLT=1FY=2010Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Figure 2. CRCT Statistics for 8 Source: from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2010), Retrieved from gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102StateId=ALLT=1FY=2010 Figure 3. EOCT Results of 2010 for Georgia Students Source: from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2010), Retrieved from gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102StateId=ALLT=1FY=2010 Figure 4. GHSGT Statistics for Georgia Students Source: from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2010), Retrieved from gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102StateId=ALLT=1FY=2010 The present statistical data show the urgent need to involve educators, administrators, and policymakers in the reformation process aimed at bringing clarity and efficiency in education and testing in the state of Georgia. It is obvious that the rate of students who do not need the bottom line of testing is quite high, and it continues to rise. The need to reform education in Georgia can be evidently noted in th e rising failure statistics in statewide exams. For example, the failure rate at the GHSGT examination in social studies was 12% in 2009, and 13% in 2008, while it comprised 19% in 2010. The EOCT statistics showed the rising rates of failures in exact sciences; thus, the 2007-2008 examination showed the 44% failure in algebra and 38% in geometry, while the 2009-2010 rates are 63% and 60% correspondingly (Georgia Department of Education, 2012). Figure 5. Advanced Placement Results for Georgia Number of Students Taking Tests 63,923 Number of Tests Taken 104,505 Number of Test Scores 3 or Higher 52,679 Percentage of Test Scores 3 or Higher 50.4% Source: from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2010), Retrieved from gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102StateId=ALLT=1FY=2010 As one can see from the present statistics, there are only a half of students from Georgia who take Advanced Placement tests successfully. Therefore, there is a clear need to ensure the movement towards improvement and increase of focus on academic achievement. Educational Options in Georgia There are a number of educational options in the state of Georgia, including private and public schools, homeschooling, charter schools, etc. Public education in Georgia corresponds to the nationwide PreK-12 program, which oversees education of children starting from the pre-kindergarten preparation until their graduation from grade 12. According to the 2008 estimate, there were 1.6 million students in Georgia; there are 181 school systems that include about 2,000 public schools in the state. Education in Georgia is compulsory for children of 6 to 16 years old. The modern public education system in Georgia employs 114,000 full-time and 5,000 part-time educators (Mewborn, 2009). The history of public education in Georgia is short, since the state was unable to provide the population with high-quality free education for many decades since the adoption of national legislation on p ublic education. One of the first efforts to provide public education was made in 1822 with the establishment of the â€Å"poor school fund†; the governor of Georgia Joseph E. Brown attempted to create the comprehensive public school system in 1858 (Mewborn, 2009). However, the traditional Southern segregation that did not allow African American students to study together with white students proved to be the mitigating factor on the way to developing effective public education. Even in the middle of the 20th century, when the effort to integrate the free African American population in the public healthcare and education systems nationwide, the Southern community responded with racist incentives such as creation of â€Å"segregation academies† in which only white students were allowed to study (Mewborn, 2009). The critical situation in the public education of Georgia was realized in the 20th century, and serious effort was made to accelerate its development and improvem ent. Thus, for example, the HOPE (Help Our Public Education) program was initiated in 1958; it helped to raise funds for financing public schools for the sake of their continuous operation, since only a few of them could afford functioning for several months without disruption (Mewborn, 2009). Therefore, the public education in Georgia experienced a set of breakdowns, affecting the overall quality of education for the population of Georgia dramatically. Nowadays, the state of Georgia has a well-developed, effective system of public education; the authority responsible for overseeing, managing, preserving, and developing it is the Georgia Department of Education. It oversees all aspects of public education in the state, and provides compliance of the state public education system with the national and state laws. It is also responsible for the control over fund allocation, mainly federal funds (Huff, 2011). The state superintendent of schools is the head of the Department of Educatio n; he is also the CEO of the state Board of Education that consists of 13 members. Now it is John Barge; he was appointed in 2010, and he presently supervises all five divisions of the Department of Education: the one of curriculum and instruction, finance and business operations, instructional technology and media, policy and external affairs, and teacher and student support (Huff, 2011). The division of curriculum and instruction oversees the state’s public programs and helps to develop them for children from the kindergarten through the secondary schooling curriculum. At the same time, this division manages the execution of ESOL programs for immigrants who are not native English speakers. Some additional functions of the curriculum and instruction division include the provision of SAT and Advanced Placement programs, control over the Migrant Education program, and management of the state educational testing services such as GWA and GHSGT (Huff, 2011). Other divisions also have a wide range of responsibilities in terms of providing and improving public education in the state of Georgia. For instance, the division of policy and international affairs compiles annual reports for the federal authorities on the subject of fund allocation by Georgia public schools, and ensures compliance of the educational regulation of the state with the No Child Left Behind Law provisions mandatory for all US states. At the same time, this division runs the public schools for blind and deaf students (Huff, 2011). The division of instructional technology and media is responsible for the newest form of education in Georgia – for the Georgia Virtual School. It was founded in 2005, and offers preparatory courses for the advanced placement, college-preparatory, career and technical educational courses. It operates mostly for the high school students, but the initiative is very successful, and it is recognized for its high potential for the upcoming research and developm ent in the field of technology-assisted instruction (Huff, 2011). There are also a large number of opportunities for Georgia students in terms of receiving a high school diploma; the variety is explained by the varying degree of academic achievement, and getting a certain type of diploma is presupposed by the academic success, grades, and individual peculiarities of students. Thus, the students of public schools in Georgia can obtain a diploma with a college preparatory endorsement (49% of students), a diploma with vocational endorsement (23%), with both endorsements (21%), a special education diploma (3.5%), and a certificate of attendance (4.5%) (Mewborn, 2009). However, the variety decreased in 2008 – the state eliminated the opportunity to get a vocational diploma only (Mewborn, 2009). However, it is inappropriate to say that the education of racial minorities and vulnerable groups has always been neglected in the state of Georgia. The Rural School Building Program initia ted by Julius Rosenwald has been existing in Georgia since the beginning of the 20th century. Due to the operation of this program, about 242 schools have been built for African American students to have an equal access to the merits of education alongside with white students (Jones, 2005). As a result of the Rural School Building Program, 103 counties of Georgia have at least one school for African Americans built between 1912 and 1932 (Jones, 2005). Overall, there are 181 school systems in the state of Georgia, 159 of which are the county systems, and 21 of which are city systems. The Department of Juvenile Justice runs its own school system, and 24 more educational facilities are of psychoeducational character. They cater for the special needs of students with severe disabilities (Mewborn, 2009). There is only one virtual school in the state of Georgia, and the accrediting body that oversees the operation of all these educational establishments is the Southern Association of Coll eges and Schools. The first type of schooling options available for Georgia students is a charter school type. Charter schools operate under the terns of the charter of the Department of Education in Georgia. Their peculiarity is that they can be exempted from a set of regulations and rules; however, they are legislatively required to meet the performance-based objectives of the state. There were 113 charter schools in the state of Georgia in 2009 (Mewborn, 2009). The second type of schools available for students is the state school type. However, the notion of a state school differs dramatically from the conventional perception thereof; there are only three state schools, the responsibility of which is to cater for the needs of disabled children, deaf and blind ones. The Atlanta Area School for the Deaf operates in Clarkston, the Georgia School for the Deaf located in Cave Spring provides students with both daily and residential educational options, while the Georgia Academy for th e Blind located in Macon has been providing residential education for blind students since 1852 (Mewborn, 2009). In addition to their strict specialization, these state schools also provide customized programs for children with multiple disabilities. The three Georgia state schools cater for the educational needs of students aged between 3 and 21. In addition to the educational programs involving professional teachers, the described state schools oversee the Georgia PINES (Parent Infant Network for Educational Services) program to teach parents cater for the special needs of their children with various disabilities (Mewborn, 2009). Private schools are also numerous in the state of Georgia. According to the 2007-2008 estimates, there were 650 parochial and independent schools in the state (Mewborn, 2009). These schools are also subject to the state regulations, and they have to retain the standardized length of the schooling day and the schooling year traditional for the traditional American schools. The law of Georgia indicates that private schools have to have â€Å"180 days of instruction each year† (Ga. Code Ann.  § 20-2-690(b)(3), d.). In addition, private schools in Georgia have to retain the set of subjects, testing standards, and reporting procedures similar to the public schools for the sake of successful accreditation. Finally, there is a homeschooling option for children and parents in Georgia, which allows parents to provide education to their children at home. The basic requirement for allowing homeschooling is that parents should have a high school diploma, or a GED diploma. According to the figures of 2005-2006, there were 36,600 students receiving homeschooling in Georgia. Parents who choose this educational option have to provide regular attendance reports, and their children have to take nationally standardized tests every third year of their studies starting from the age equaling the third grade in schools (Mewborn, 2009). As one can see, the number of options available for students in Georgia is quite large; however, the reputation of schools, the average grade with which students finish each year of their studies, and the availability of accommodation for students with special needs are some additional deciding factors for parents and students in choosing the school in which they would like to study. Therefore, the educational options in Georgia presuppose fierce competition for students, as well as the struggle for higher ranking of schools at the state and national scale. It appears possible to assume that the supply of schooling options is adequate to the demand of students; however, the quality of education is an independently assessed factor that does not depend on the quantity of schools; it will be identified in the further sections of the present work. Analysis of Educational Needs of the State The state of Georgia has a high variety of educational establishments, and strives to compliance with nation ally established standards in terms of academic achievement. However, one should note that every state has a set of individual socio-economic and demographic peculiarities, and some states have the needs and challenges non-typical for other regions of the country. Therefore, when one discusses Georgia, he or she has to note that the state is situated in the South of the USA, which implies the dominance of rural communities over the urban landscape, which is always indicative of lower access to education for residents, and generally presupposes lower rates of attendance by rural children. Southern states have traditionally been engaged in agriculture, while the North of the USA has always been more business- and industry-focused. Therefore, agricultural activities are possible only under the conditions of having much land, which complicates access to schools for children living on the farms far from the school systems in their county. The statistical data on the investigation of Geor gia educational needs supposes that the majority of Southern states are found in the critical or very critical state in terms of education. According to the data of the Educational Needs Index (2005), the percentage of young people with a high school diploma as related to retired people (about 64 years old, who studied at school about half a century ago) is high and strongly related to that of the nationwide scale: 83.7% and 85.8% respectively. However, the percentage of young people to old people with an associate degree is very low in Georgia, differing from the nationwide level by 1.3% out of 8.2%, which is a dramatic difference in such small numbers – see Figure 6 (Educational Needs Index, 2005). Figure 6. Educational Needs of the State of Georgia Description Georgia National Percent of 18 to 64 Year Olds with a High School Diploma (2005) 83.7 85.8 Percent of 25 to 64 Year Olds with an Associate Degree (2005) 6.9 8.2 Percent of 25 to 64 Year OIds with a Bachelorà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Degree or Higher (2005) 28.1 28.6 Difference in College Attainment between Young (25 to 35) and Older (45 to 54) 0.7 1.5 Unemployment Rate (2005) 7.57 7.12 Percent of Population Under 65 at or Below the Poverty Level (2005) 20.6 18.5 Median Family Income (2005) 54,092 57,167 Per Capita Personal Income (2005) 24,270 25,360 Percent of Employment in Manufacturing and Extraction Industries (2005) 11.7 12 Rate of Population Growth 64 and Under 7.6 2.7 Percent of Population Ages 0 to 19 28.9 27.6 Percent of Population 20 to 44 38.1 35.1 Percent At-Risk Minorities 0 to 44 43.1 31.1 Source: from Educational Needs Index (n.d.). Retrieved from educationalneedsindex.com/georgia-education.php?n=3 However, the percentage of people with a bachelor’s degree or a higher education diploma is nearly similar for the students in Georgia and the USA overall, reaching nearly 30%. Therefore, the present ratio indicates that the tendency to receive higher education is more typical and commonplace for the modern young community than for the community of the 1960s or 1970s. The present figure shows the historical Southern disregard towards higher education; people who worked in the field or with domestic animals underestimated the need for higher education and considered it wasteful and irrelevant for their agricultural activities. Therefore, a much lower number of Georgia students bothered to attend a college or a university. The agricultural focus of Southern states is surely a decisive factor in the low numbers of higher education diplomas received in the middle of the past century; however, the percentage of nationwide college and university graduates seems to follow the pattern of Georgia as well, which indicates the higher access and affordability of higher education at the present period. It is possible to assume that receiving higher education was considered a privilege for the best students in the past century, and racial minorities such as African Americans and Asian Americans were eliminated from the public education process, therefore being unable to receive higher education and to obtain a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree. Hence, nowadays the higher level of younger people with higher education diplomas is explained by the increased access to educational facilities for students, which indicates two changes – the growth of academic achievement levels that allow students to automatically enroll to the American universities and to receive scholarships, or the decrease of academic achievement standards needed for enrollment to the universities. In any case, the presently noted tendency is much more complex than depicted in the present paragraph, and comprises a great set of factors and changes that have occurred in the educational field of the USA within the past 50 years. It is possible to summarize that the access to education has increased generally around the country, while students have beco me more aware of the need to receive higher education in order to be competitive in the American and global labor market. Hence, the ratio of young people having higher education is very optimistic for both Georgia and the USA in general. According to the information of the Educational Needs Index (2005), there is lack of motivation in younger students for school attendance; as the ratio indicates, the level of attendance for younger to older students is 0.7, which is 1.5 for the national community. Hence, one can assume that the number of younger students attending classes on a regular basis is lower in Georgia than the number of older students is. The present inference implies that younger students are subject to dropouts for different reasons be it employment, incarceration, pregnancy, or anything else. The overall American pattern indicates the popularity of education with younger people more than with older people, which shows the need to motivate younger students for education in Georgia. In case students receive their education in a timely manner, they will be able to find a reputable job faster, and will become more successful in their career. However, the traditional tendency is noted for people involving in career change at a later age, which is surely ineffective in terms of career development. Next, the socio-economic background plays a significant role in the formation of educational patterns and rates in any state. Thus, a brief look at the socio-economic conditions in Georgia allows making some more conclusions about the state’s educational needs. The unemployment rate in Georgia is 7.57%, and the level of people under the age of 64 living at the verge of poverty or below the living standards minimum in the state is 20.6% (Educational Needs Index, 2005). Therefore, one can make a conclusion about a dramatic socio-economic situation in the state, since these indicators are several points higher than those for the US-wide statistics. Furthe r on, the average income per household is more than $3,000 lower for Georgia families than for the national level – families in the state of Georgia enjoy only $54,092 of annual income, while the average American family usually obtains about $57,167 (Educational Needs Index, 2005). Finally, the demographic factor is also a meaningful one in the field of educational situation; the state of Georgia experiences the unprecedented population growth level equaling 7.6%, while the overall US figure equals 2.7% (Educational Needs Index, 2005). The present difference shows how much the strain of young people’s influx in the state (birth or immigration) will affect the quality of education in Georgia. Though having enough educational facilities, the state of Georgia is not likely to be able to cater for the needs of such quantity of young Georgia residents. In addition, the quality of education measured by performance-based indicators is not appropriate for the state, since it i s inhabited by 43.1% of at-risk minorities, which is much higher than the 31.1 rate for the overall country (Educational Needs Index, 2005). Minorities are noted to have a much lower level of attendance and academic achievement, which produces a negative impact on the ranking of Georgia schools, and the overall ranking of the state in terms of education. Taking into account the number and gravity of educational needs in the state, one has to pay attention to the attempts undertaken by the policymakers and educational authorities in the state of Georgia to improve the situation, and to meet those needs effectively. There are a number of programs operating nationwide for the sake of reforming education in the USA that have been successfully implemented in Georgia; they include the Teach for America program, the New Teacher Project (TNTP), and the Race to Top grant that Georgia received in 2010 from the US federal government for financing the development of low-performing schools. They represent the modern comprehensive effort towards reforming education, and introducing the 21st-century performance standards to the majority of schools lagging behind in educational provision. The Teach for America program is the nationwide endeavor of improvement of educational quality standards; it represents the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teaching in urban and rural public schools (Teach for America in Georgia, 2012). These graduates become leaders and expand the educational opportunities in the USA for the sake of increase of the overall education quality in the country; it is due to the overall voluntary effort of the Teach for America educators that the innovative technology and cutting-edge instructional techniques are brought to the public school classrooms. In addition, the young graduates are able to realize themselves as skilled educators, natural leaders, and charismatic inspirers for unmotivated students. The Teach f or America program operates in the Atlanta Public Schools, and the Fulton County Schools in Georgia. The eligibility of educators for the participation in the program is identified in terms of having a Bachelor’s degree from the accredited college, or a university degree; the applicants’ GPA should be not lower than 2.5 (according to the 4.0 scale). Additionally, they should be US citizens, nationals, or legal permanent residents of the USA (Teach for America in Georgia, 2012). The qualities that candidates have to reveal include the natural urge to leadership and achievement, perseverance and sustained educational focus in the face of challenges, the developed critical thinking skills, and strong organizational ability. To become effective educators in the US public schools, candidates should also have respect for the diversity of students in the classroom to which they will come; finally, they have to possess interpersonal and motivational skills to manage the classr oom activities constructively, and to introduce high standards of instruction (Teach for America in Georgia, 2012). Another project successfully operating in Georgia is the New Teacher Project; it functions in Georgia through the Georgia Teaching Fellows program (TNTP, 2012). The program is aimed at recruiting talented career changers and recent graduates with the purpose of teaching the high-need subjects in public schools. The prime task of the present program is to supply talented new teachers, and to support effective teaching in the public education field. Maximizing teacher efficiency in high-poverty schools has become the top priority for American policymakers; therefore, the TNTP program offers effective solutions in terms of closing the instructional gaps in public education. The ultimate goal of the TNTP program is to give the poor and minority students quality teachers to catch up with their peers in higher performing schools, to graduate from schools with adequate grades , and to succeed in further education and career development (TNTP, 2012). The educational improvement measures taken in the state of Georgia in terms of reforming education are intense, and certain feasible improvements are already evident. The Race to Top federal grant was received by the state from the federal government in 2010, and the progress in targeting high-poverty schools in Georgia is reviewed by federal authorities annually. At the present moment, the RT3 pilot program is scheduled for 2011-2012 schooling years within the Race to Top framework aims at assisting the innovation and reform in four primary education areas. They include recruitment and retention of effective educational staff in low-income schools; building data systems that measure student performance and achievement; adoption of standards and assessments that prepare competitive labor market players; and turning around the lowest-achieving schools in the state of Georgia. The reform instruments generated f or targeting these chosen objectives include: revised CLASS and Leader Keys, the choice of alternative students learning measures, surveys, and artifacts; adoption of the student growth score; and achievement gap reduction (RT3 Pilot Program Schedule: 2011-12 School Year, 2012). The program has been thoroughly planned with the assistance of state and federal authorities, and the timeline of its implementation can be seen on Figure 7: Figure 7. The Timeline of Race to Top Program Implementation in Georgia. Source: from Georgia’s Race to the Top (2011). Retrieved from http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs011/1105202030182/archive/1105684170312.html National Ranking of Georgia Educational Level Since Georgia is one of the American states, it has to comply with the regulations set at the nationwide level in order to receive the federal funding, to be fully accountable to the government, etc. Therefore, the academic achievement of Georgia’s students is also assessed in com parison with the US standards and patterns. The overall distribution of Georgia academic results in the US scale is optimistic – Figures 6 and 7 show the results of students from Georgia in the national ACT testing. Figure 8. ACT Testing Results of Students from Georgia Source: from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2010), Retrieved from gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102StateId=ALLT=1FY=2010 The national standards for schooling performance were established by the then-President of the USA George Bush who forced the nation to face the reality of too many pupils simply not studying at schools, and getting through the grades only due to the lack of national standards of academic achievement (Hefling, 2012). Hence, the US President passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 that was aimed at helping boost the students’ performance (Turner, 2012). The No Child Left Behind Law of 2001 revealed the federal policy of aggressive intrusion into the sta te management of educational achievement gaps. Figure 9. Results of Georgia Students in the 4 Source: from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2010), Retrieved from gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102StateId=ALLT=1FY=2010 These two figures indicate that the educational performance in Georgia is at the sufficient nationwide level in the majority of indicators; however, these figures reveal a more large-scale problem in the US education. There is a very low percentage of students who receive more than average results, and the number of students falling behind the nationwide standards is extremely high. Since the USA is a multi-national and multi-culture country that offers equality and diversity in employment and education to all nations and ethnicities, the low levels of proficiency for Black and Hispanic students are indicative of a great range of troubles underlying the current state of US education. Despite equality, there are vulnerable groups of students wh o enjoy lower access to educational materials, to instruction, and who have low results on a steady basis. Therefore, close attention to numerous aspects of education in Georgia is likely to reveal educational problems at the macro-level; these may help generate solutions to various problems in the field of education at the local and national level. Evaluation of the Georgia Educational System and Curriculum The overall assessment of Georgia educational system is closely connected with the evaluation of the current demographic situation in Georgia, and the legislative basis on which the educational system functions. One of the most notable factors that allows producing a certain set of conclusions is the current initiative to update the No Child Left Behind Act, and the review of the law requiring 65% of funding spent in public schools’ classrooms adopted in 2006 (Turner, 2012). The present law increased the transparency of funds’ allocation, and transformed the majori ty of expenditures from the principals’ offices to the classroom; however, the present legislative measure reduced the funding of libraries and counselors, which put them under threat with the outburst of the crisis, and which resulted in underfunding thereof (Turner, 2012). The overall legislative environment of educational operation in Georgia led to the situation described in the article of Curasso cited by Richardson (2011) in his blog: It is the poverty rate, along with the incarceration rate, that has long separated the U.S. from other industrial countries. Mechanized test prepping, schools closing, and cheapened diplomas won’t make a dent in either, that self-reinforcing loop, in the absence of real reform and commitment to communities as a whole, figures only keep on churning (Curasso, 2011; cited in Richardson, 2011, para. 5). The current legislation on education in the US is outdated, which can be seen in the law prohibiting the usage of electronic devices at schools (Turner, 2012). In addition to the critical neglect towards the educational reality, the No Child Left Behind Act also poses rigid and unrealistic expectations that make too much emphasis on the reading and math tests, which proves irrelevant to the overall academic improvement in the USA (Hefling, 2012). The pressure of the No Child Left Behind Act poses additional constraints on teachers and principals who appear to be judged on the factors out of their control, which is totally unfair. There are still huge racial differences in academic achievement visible in all parts of the USA, South in particular, so states with a high portion of African American or Asian American students experience the inadequate or inappropriate ranking results (Hefling, 2012). Alongside with reformation urges, there have always been critical remarks regarding the planned reforms; according to the opinion of Jones (2009), maintenance of the US economic dominance is possible only under the conditio ns of educating generations with superior analytical and creative skills. The statistical data indicate that the majority of scientists and engineers employed in the USA are foreigners, and the USA does not have the intellectual capital of such kind of its own. Therefore, the educational reforms should be directed at the introduction of additional instructional support in favor of scientific development and advancement. Many reforms are successful on the way of moving Georgia towards the nationwide and international educational standards; one of such reforms is the introduction of the Comprehensive School Reform (CSR), and the creation of the Georgia Core Curriculum (GCC). The quality basic education Act was adopted in Georgia in 1985, including the quality core curriculum for public schools for the K-12 program (Mewborn, 2009). However, the gaps in academic standards were detected at the beginning of the 21st century, and the curriculum was revised in 2003, resulting in the New Cur riculum made by the Georgia Performance Standards organization. Since 2005, it encompasses four primary areas of educational focus: math, science, English, and social studies (Mewborn, 2009). Nowadays, the CSR initiative aims to improve student achievement by reforms based on scientific research and effective practical implementation of research findings. The focus of CSR efforts is the group of low-income, high-poverty schools unable to meet challenging state standards (CSR, 2002). In addition to the K-12 curriculum, the University System of Georgia has also introduced the New Core Curriculum. It has been adopted in 2009 to allow greater flexibility in aligning students’ general education experience with individual instructional missions and strategic plans of the state (University System of Georgia, 2012). The core curriculum of higher education establishments includes such areas as communication skills, quantitative skills, institutional options, humanities, fine arts, and ethics, natural sciences, math, and technology, social sciences, lower-division major requirements, US perspectives, global perspectives, and critical thinking (Implementing the New Core Curriculum, 2010). Unfortunately, not all educational reforms are as successful as the CSR and core curriculum are; according to the opinion of the Georgia Association of Teachers, the introduction of the student performance indicator as a decisive factor in teacher evaluation and remuneration is completely inefficient and subjective (Jones, 2009). The previously used system based on the seniority of teachers was much more effective in financial terms, and provided the right motivation for teachers who longed to advancement and career promotion instead of pushing their students to better results at tests and employing unethical and illegal measures to achieve the sufficient level of academic progress at least formally (Jones, 2009). In addition, the proposal to merge the state’s public techn ical colleges with the traditional 2-year community colleges was received with disapproval and hesitation. The major part of criticism was directed at the identification of these two types of educational establishments having completely different missions, and providing education in different areas (Jones, 2009). The imperfection of assessment and ranking based on the standardized tests’ results is also an obvious fact that impedes on the quality of education overall, and stagnates all reformation attempts undertaken statewide and nationwide. As recognized by Downey (2011b), standardized testing does not represent absolute quantitative estimate of what students have learned, so it is unable to provide information for effective decision-making in the field of education. Moreover, no standardized test should be used as a basis for making important decisions (Downey, 2011b). The total reliance on standardized testing in the USA has led to the situation in which educators teach o nly to tests, curriculum is narrowed to teach only the data needed for testing, instruction is narrowed to test preparation, and the academically disadvantaged students quickly drop out of educational establishments due to their inability to catch up. In addition, the pressure to raise grades on the school-wide or district-wide level often pushes principals and teachers into unethical practices, cheating, and intimidation, which is totally ineffective in the US educational environment (Downey, 2011b). Among other factors resulting in the current dramatic situation in the US education visible in Georgia as well, one can note the lack of motivation for teachers to involve in meaningful educational practices. Thus, according to the opinion of Downey (2011a), even the most expensive colleges and universities cheat students, since they are unable to give them the high-quality education, and teachers as well as professors with excellent academic reputation are often reluctant to work with students, believing that having a diploma of an expensive university is already a guarantee of career success. Thus, Downey (2011a) advises all students to demand more from their teachers and professors, to require the education for which they have paid, and to take the maximum of what they have acquired with enrolment to a higher educational institution (Downey, 2011a). The US President Barack Obama speaks about the necessity to work hard, and not to stop one’s education after graduation from high schools; it is obviously a degrading tendency for children to grow unmotivated, and to long to finishing the 12th grade for starting their careers (Suggs, 2011). However, more and more teachers notice the indifference of students attending or not attending their classrooms. As Diguette (2011) noted, there are only few students who understand that academic proficiency is their guarantee for having good career prospects. The rest attend classes without interest and engagement, do no t participate in discussions, and sincerely believe that the activities they conduct at school will be irrelevant in their future work (Diguette, 2011). This obvious lack of motivation for higher education and education in general mitigates the development of the country in terms of intellectual capital competitiveness. The noted growth of the educational gap indicates that Georgia needs skilled workers, but does not educate the sufficient number of people able to work for its benefit (Markiewicz, 2011). It is very pessimistic to note this fact, since Georgia was a leader in the introduction of innovative educational solutions, such as the HOPE scholarship, and the PreK-12 co0mprehensive program (Holladay, 2011). The decision offered by Downey (2011c) to provide low-income families with housing vouchers to enable them to move to higher-income communities is surely potentially beneficial, since it is based on the findings about the crucial effect of the environment on the academic ou tcomes of students, and the financial success of their parents. However, a much more in-depth action is needed to save education in Georgia and the USA; teachers and students should get an innovative vision of education to move them forward to the achievement of educational goals of the state. Cheating: The Circumstances and Outcomes of the Atlanta Scandal Quality and efficiency of education has always been assessed by its integrity and objectivity; therefore, the issue of cheating raised at the nationwide level after the Atlanta cheating scandal is a serious problem to consider for all stakeholders. The involvement of students in cheating is much more logical to predict, since all students want to have higher grades, and to show much better performance at any price. However, the involvement of teachers and, what is more, principals in the cheating machinations was an incredible discovery made by the reporters and journalists in Atlanta during their statistical analysis of standards deviations of the number of erasures at state examinations. The first person to alert the public about commonplace cheating was Heather Vogell, the reporter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution; the reporter noted a dramatic gap between the marks of students falling behind the state standards during the test, and their perfect re-examination results (Lenoir, 2011). As a result of her investigation in which the state authorities got gradually involved about 44 public schools and 178 teachers were accused of cheating and faking state test results (Pennsylvania is latest to face school cheating scandal, 2011). The scandal unleashed at the full scale after the detailed report on cheating was released; striking facts were outlined in the report, indicating the ways teachers were made to erase wrong results of their students, to make them review incorrect answers, or bring the drafts of writing works for the teachers’ review with the purpose of proofreading, editing, and then rewri ting them (Strauss, 2011). The Atlanta scandal became a highly audacious case for all US states to reconsider their policies in remuneration of teachers and principals, as well as assessing the students’ performance. There were many mentions of the obsession with figures that principals of schools had regarding their statewide or nationwide ranking. It is obvious that funding of public schools is usually allocated according to the performance of students studying in them, and logically, schools with higher rates and with more visible improvements in rates received more funds from federal and local authorities. Moreover, teachers also reported the dependence of their payments, as well as prescription of certain bonuses and monetary awards depending on the results their classes showed. In case of a failure to take the whole class through the testing procedure, teachers were fined or fired (Strauss, 2011). The reports of teachers about intimidation and fear in which they had to work for the sake of not knowledge, but exam rates give a clear idea of why faking the results of tests became a commonplace practice for both students and educators. The continuation of the Atlanta cheating scandal touched Pennsylvania as well; 89 schools, 28 of which are located in Philadelphia, were found guilty in cheating at the state exams as well. The reason for suspicion was found in the improbably high number of erasures at the exams, and tremendously high progress in math within a short period between the exam and re-examination (Pennsylvania is latest to face school cheating scandal, 2011). The cheating facts were disclosed with the help of mass media coverage – the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Notebook published their reports about anonymous confessions of teachers’ about being forced to cheat. As a result of mass media investigations, about a half of Atlanta schools were found guilty in allowing cheating practices, and even encouraging them in classrooms for the sake of getting higher rating results. The neglect to teachers’ erasures of wrong answers, and putting the right answers in the exam answer sheets was mainly explained by the pressure of the No Child Left Behind Law dictating the need to provide adequate educational levels for all children regardless of their skills, motivation, and progress (Pennsylvania is latest to face school cheating scandal, 2011). As a consequence of the shocking Atlanta scandal, the terrifying reality of legal, educational, and federal pressures pushing teachers and principals to educational crimes has become the prime focus of policymakers, reporters, and lawyers. Despite the common embarrassment of the community, one could not help identifying the deeper factors that has led to the current situation. The recent analysis of cheating tendencies shows that students involve in cheating for the competitive reasons, and because of the frequent cheating practices they see in their classrooms. The t raditional ranking pattern in a class is the one on the curve, i.e., students’ ranking depends on the performance of other students in their class. For this reason, students who lag behind the rest because of their non-involvement in cheating practices decide to cheat because of the relative ease and speed of successful homework completion (A cheating crisis in America’s schools, 2011). Judging from the motivation students provide for cheating, and taking into account the statistical facts about 50% of teachers reporting neglect to cheating on the regular basis, one can assume that there is a critical point in the US education when the academic achievement loses its sense and value. As students report in surveys, they are sure that no higher educational establishment will waste time checking their real knowledge – the majority of institutions put restrictions in grades on eligibility for studying. Thus, they use all available measures for getting good grades, wh ile the most successful learners (formally) are often ignorant of the basic academic concepts, and appear academically disabled when they get to higher educational establishments. The Atlanta scandal is still the subject of agitated debate and discussion; the Interim schools Superintendent Erroll Davis informed all accused teachers and principals about the options they had – either to resign, or to be fired (Atlanta Public Schools: 41 Named in Cheating Scandal Quit, 2011). The present solution seems logical in the conditions of the comprehensive involvement in cheating nationwide – the fierce prosecution of those uncovered today is likely to intimidate those secretly involved for the future. However, the morale of the Atlanta scandal should stretch much farther than plain resignation and dismissal; the governmental officials have to think of an alternative set of incentives to drive academic performance instead of formal compliance with figures and statistics. Conclusi on As it comes from the present analysis, there are a number of educational options in the state of Georgia, and state authorities do their best to comply with the nationwide-established standards of education and academic achievement. There are about 2,000 schools, and both private and public educational establishments offer a wide range of educational opportunities for children and youth. In addition, there is much being done for the sake of reforming and improving educational facilities in Georgia – the state participates in such programs as Teach for America, Race to the Top, and New Teacher Program. Generally, the state enjoys high standards of public and private education, but there are certain gaps to be filled, and certain challenges to be faced for the sake of providing comprehensive, high-quality education for the growing number of young people in Georgia. The state administration and policymakers responsible for monitoring and managing education in Georgia have to increase their awareness of the intensification of competition in the labor market, both nationally and internationally. Therefore, the educational opportunities in the USA overall, and in every US state in particular, have to meet the innovative needs of employers worldwide. To identify these needs, the educators and principals have to work jointly with the scholarly community to conduct research on the changing educational and career needs, and to identify the ways in which the reformation could be executed smoothly and constructively. Thus, the state of Georgia lacks evidence-based research in the field of education, and needs to take not only practical, but also theoretical action for the sake of continuous improvement. Another factor that allows assessing the state of education in Georgia is the geographical location of the state, and the historical tendency towards segregation, which made the racial integration in Southern schools highly problematic. As one knows, Georgia is o ne of the Southern states that were for slavery, and that did not accept African Americans as equal until the end of the past century. Therefore, the problem with equal access to public education has been existing until recently, which is now reflected in low academic achievement of non-white American population of the state. Only Asian Americans are notably successful in their studies, which is opposite for African Americans and Latin Americans. The critical position of public education is not unique for the state of Georgia; this problem is common for nearly all states in the USA. The main challenge to reformation and improvement in the majority of low-performing schools is the performance-based funding typical for the USA. Many Georgia schools are unable to reach the nationally acceptable assessment levels, which results in under-financing, and aggravates the situation even further. The present assessment type affects the academic process in American schools negatively, which can be seen from the Atlanta cheating scandal – principals and teachers are intimidated by the administration in terms of avoiding low grades by any means for the sake of school funding. As a result, the assessment results do not reflect the real-state academic achievements of students, certification outcomes are faked, and the overall integrity of academic assessment is becoming doubtful, redundant, and ineffective. The only solution for the state of Georgia, as well as for many other states facing similar problems in the 21st century, is to generate a different set of performance indicators, and to create a new set of metrics for allocation of funds. The problem has much deeper roots that the simple inability of students to pass the annual tests such as GWA, EOCT, CRCT, or GHSGT. The performance-based funding scheme is a closed circle that helps successful schools prosper, but neglects the needs of unsuccessful schools. Finally, sufficient effort has to be directed at the achi evement of high technological standards incorporated in the educational process. The 21st century requires close attention to the information technology, technological innovations, invention of advanced appliances and devices that facilitate human work and activities of any kind. Thus, modern students have to obtain the adequate set of computer and technical skills for the sake of succeeding at the workplace or higher education. Overall, the state of education in the state of Georgia is not critical, since there are an adequate number of private and public schools able to cater for the growing needs of Georgia students. However, the challenges and gap existing in Georgia education reveal the problems faced by the whole country in terms of assessment, funding, and lack of technology. The needs-based approach is potentially more effective than the performance-based one, which is likely to bring the US education at a new level of motivation, initiative, and outcomes. Authorities of the state of Georgia are taking enough effort to improve their education, but the assistance of local and federal authorities, as well as certain legal changes in the No Child Left Behind Law, and the funding issues, will have a high potential at the statewide and nationwide level. 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